Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light: Eternal Bonds
by LightLord92
Summary: Sequel to Paladins of Light: Darkness Awakens. New Domino City is back to normality thanks to our heroes, but shadows still threaten the world as the Wicked Gods ready for the last stand against light. T for language, violence later on, stuff like that.
1. Episode 1: A Duel of White Dragons

**Hello readers! LightLord92, starting the new adventure of the Paladins of Light series, which I've come to call Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light - Eternal Bonds, taking place in the time period between the Dark Signers and the Pre-WRGP arcs, taking into account new events that will take place, like the ones mentioned in the last episode of Darkness Awakens. Hope you guys like it and here we go with the next volume!**

**First I would like to thank DragonKnight15 for lending me his help with a few matters in this episode (cards he made, helping name a few characters), thanks buddy! And well, I also take the opportunity to state this. This arc is whole fan-made; there are certain events that occur between the Dark Signers and the Pre-WRGP arcs that I found interesting to use, so I give them my touch in this arc, hope you like them! Also, feel free to comment which characters you would like to see from GX or 5D's and I'll make my best to bring them here.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, original plot ideas of the anime, or music from the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or Yu-Gi-Oh! GX's series or any other I try to use, they belong to Konami and Kazuki Takahashi or their respective owners; I do however own the OC's of the Paladins of Light and some cards I've been creating for the fanfic. All credit goes to their respective owners.**

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><p><strong>LightLord92: This is a new adventure! Let's kick it off with Episode 1 – A Duel of White Dragons, The Real Heir of Blue Eyes appears!<strong>

New Domino City, main airport of the city; a white private airplane began flying down, readying to land on the track. Finally landing, a young woman with light-blue hair appeared from the door opening, as she stared to the higher apartment buildings by the downtown area "New Domino City, it's been some time since I was last here." Said the young woman, of about 18 years, smiling in enjoyment "It's time I pay a visit to him, he'll be really surprised to see me!" she added, quite anxious. Moments later, she got on a limousine, heading to the apartment buildings.

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><p>New Domino City, Sector Security Bureau Headquarters; barely three days have passed since the defeat of the Dark Signers and the Earthbound Immortals at the hands of the Signers; New Domino City is returning back to its normal flow of work. Yusei Fudo, as well as Jack Atlas and Crow Hogan have become heroic figures for the city, being the saviors of the dark hour they were facing. Inside the Director's main office of Sector Security's Bureau, sadness, guilt and sympathy filled the air.<p>

Rafael and Mina stared at Goodwin's lone chair, as they missed Goodwin for leaving this world already. They knew he turned to dark side, but Rafael could see what he looked for, but got misguided and misunderstood what he was looking for "_Goodwin, you looked for a better world in here…by the wrong way unfortunately. May you find peace now; that's the least you deserve."_ He thought to himself, as Mina was looking even more down than him.

Rafael simply patted on her shoulder, making her snap out and look at him "Hey, cheer up." He said smiling "I know it's hard, but we've got our lives even so. We must move on, for him." Mina simply smiled back at him, hugging Rafael dearly.

"Thank you for everything Rafael. I appreciate it." She said, breaking the hug soon and heading to the desk, checking some papers Goodwin had left "We must see now who will take the Director's place, to maintain order and peace in the city while we add Satellite too." she said, stopping as soon as she found a tagged CD with the Important legend, she played it on Goodwin's computer as Rafael walked towards the desk.

As the computer turned on, a video Goodwin recorded appeared in the screen, as it began playing automatically "Good evening, Rafael and Mina. I have a strange feeling it is you two the ones seeing this recording." said Goodwin, as they were a bit surprised about it "The reason you're watching this, is possibly that I succeeded at fulfilling my brother and my dream of ending the war and bringing peace to this world." He said, closing his eyes, then opening them soon after "For sure Yusei has become a lead figure in the future of the city and is working to join the city with Satellite, which leaves only one more thing to solve, find a substitute for the post of Director of Sector Security, at least until the time it isn't needed anymore." He said, as two files of both Mina and Rafael appeared, with Trudge entering to the room soon after it.

"Am I interrupting something?" asked Trudge, as Rafael and Mina asked him to see the video too, but asking him to be silent as Goodwin's recording kept onwards "I have thought of possible people for the post; Mina, you have been a loyal and good worker, keeping Jack under vigilance and also with the missions regarding Rafael's group; Trudge is also a good choice, he has a strong sense of justice and has seemed to let go his past with Yusei and the Satellite;" he said, showing another fie "Lazar would also be considered, as he has been a good friend of mine and followed my every order so far; yet…I have come to a solution that would benefit the city the most." He said, as Rafael's profile appeared in half the screen, with Goodwin's recording still playing.

"Rafael, so far your sense of justice has been something that keeps me intrigued; your loyalty and care for people are also exceptional in the many people I have come to know; you put everyone and everything in front of you, instead of your own wishes or well-being, something admirable, but also dangerous if I may say so; I have come to the conclusion you are a worthy successor, as you will be of a lot of aid for Yusei to complete what I have left behind. The choice is yours in the end, my friend. Choose wisely." He said, as the recording turned off, with Rafael quite surprised.

Mina and Trudge simply stared at him, smiling "Well, that makes things simple." said Trudge eager, placing his hands at his waist, while Mina simply smiled happily "Congratulations, Director Rafael." She said smiling too.

Rafael simply looked rather cold, staring immediately right outside of the window, at the city "This is…quite a surprise…" he said hesitant "Do you guys mind if I answer you later on? I need time to think about it." He said, immediately receiving a message from his phone from Sara, asking him to return to his apartment as soon as possible. Mina nodded, as she and Trudge simply laughed a bit, catching Rafael off-guard. On route to the apartments, accompanied by Mina and Trudge, Rafael was deep focused on his thoughts, trying to think what Sara wanted to tell him.

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><p>Arriving there, Rafael received another message, turning on his communicator "Rafael here, what's going on?"<p>

"Rafael, we need you up in the terrace of the building, please come here." replied Sara, the communication ending soon thereafter. Rafael along with Mina and Trudge went to the elevator, heading to the terrace immediately, Rafael thinking something wrong was happening, still noting Trudge and Mina containing their smiles, hardly.

As the elevator was arriving, Rafael was getting a bit anxious, turning to Mina "Guys, I know you know what's going on, care to fill me in?" he said, realizing it wasn't something quite important, as Mina simply giggled a bit. When the doors opened, Rafael turned there. Mina simply smiled at him.

"Well, if you want to know, why don't you go outside?" she asked, going out to the roof area with Trudge, Rafael following them. He stared at the sky, feeling a change in wind's direction. He had never been in the roof area, it seemed like one designed to hold events of the people living within the apartment, it was pretty much fixed as if a party would be held soon, 5 long tables for about 6 people each of them. When Rafael stepped out, he turned around to see Mina and Trudge "Well, what's this all-" he said, startled to see all of his friends reunited there, the GX Gang, the Signers, the Dark Signers back to normality, and the Paladins, except for Roland, there "Oh no, you didn't tell them, right Sara?" he said, turning to his friend who simply smiled eagerly.

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><p>"Happy birthday Rafael!" said everyone, throwing some confetti at him. Yusei, a grumpy Jack, Akiza, Leo, Luna, Mina and Trudge who were with him, Jaden, Alexis, Chazz, Syrus, Mana, Crow, Jill, Aster, Misty, Carly, a serious Kalin, Sara, Alana, Emily, Akio, Lily, Blair, and Tyranno, greeting him for the celebration. Aside from Jack who looked like himself, which actually meant he was enjoying passing time with his friends, and a pretty serious Kalin that both Jill and Crow tried to cheer up a bit, everyone was having a great time as soon as Rafael arrived. Sara confirmed to him she told everybody of that, arranging it with barely enough time.<p>

"Sorry to make you go through this." Said Sara, taking a seat with Rafael and Yusei, as Akiza, Akio, Lily and Mina got near too.

"Never mind, it was a nice surprise." replied Rafael smiling, as he was taking a drink of lemonade "I actually spent the last years before meeting you guys forgetting it."

"Is that even possible?" asked Akio a bit surprised "I mean, never mind, really. Just babbling a bit, but I'm glad everything went smoothly in the end with the Signers and the Dark Signers." He said, turning to Misty, Carly, Kalin, and then Rein "We could save them and the world."

"The power of our bonds allowed that to happen." Affirmed Yusei smiling "If we believe in each other and trust in ourselves, we're a team after all."

"Yusei's right." Said Akiza, turning to Mina and Rafael then "Changing a bit of subjects, guys with Director Rex gone, who will take care of Sector Security's Bureau? The city will be nervous if criminals start popping up here and there."

Rafael simply got a tad serious, but pulling a smile afterwards "Well, I'll still work with Sector Security. I promised that much to Goodwin, but…" he said, thinking then of the responsibility befalling to his shoulders "to become Director? It sounds tempting but I'm not sure if I'm qualified for the job."

"You've got a strong sense of justice; Goodwin was right on that one." stated Yusei quite confident "I'm sure you would do a fine job."

"Well, putting it like that…" replied Rafael scratching his back head a bit "I'll think a bit more of it. For now I would like to thank you guys for this day."

"Well, it hasn't ended yet!" shouted Jack, smirking as he turned on his Duel Disk "Rafael, the first time we met we didn't had a good duel. The second one, you underestimated me, now's the time to show your real strength!" he then pointed at Rafael, standing in determination and turning serious "Rafael, I challenge you to a rematch! Let's duel right here and now!"

Rafael simply smiled back, standing up and readying his deck "Well Jack, you beat me that time because I didn't went all-out, this time it will be different of course." Upon saying so, Sara couldn't help but smile, as well as Yusei, Akiza, Akio and Lily, Jaden of course was over excited of a dueling about to start, while Mina simply looked worried of not knowing who to cheer for, since Carly was beside Jack Atlas.

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><p>"I'm sorry Mr. Atlas, but your rematch will have to wait." said a female voice of a young woman coming from the elevator, as it was open, with a woman wearing a blue tank top below a white short-sleeved jacket with a white grayish mini skirt; light white blue hair and bright blue eyes "It's been a long time, my sweet Rafael."<p>

Rafael immediately swallowed by surprise, his soda, looking quite shocked at the woman, obviously recognizing her "Oh no, not again." He said nervous "Why?"

"Why? Because it's your birthday dummy." Replied the woman eagerly smiling in a funny anime way, getting ahold of Rafael's arm "After all, that's what couples do." Upon saying that, Mina and Sara got really astonished while Rafael simply got embarrassed and somewhat frustrated.

"But I've told you thousands of times we're not a couple!" replied Rafael blushed up, while Jack seemed to laugh a bit behind teeth.

"That's a shame, after all you were the Champion once." Said a male's voice coming from the elevator, as a brown haired blue-eyed tall and serious man began walking, wearing a long white sleeveless white coat with shoulder pads and raised studded collar, with a long sleeve black shirt underneath it and extra belts strapped in his upper arms, along with black jeans; accompanying him was a woman with the same hair and eye color as the young woman that was holding to Rafael, except she was wearing a long blue whitish dress and high heels "I was right in the end Azura, I won't allow that."

"Dad, you promised to let me handle this on my own!" replied the young woman, letting go of Rafael while turning to her father, who was "Kaiba, long time no see." Said Rafael serious looking at his previous sponsor "If this is your way of asking me to return to the Pro Leagues, you're losing your time, I won't."

"Hmph, like if I came here for that." Replied Kaiba in his all-high and mighty usual way "You lost your chance to become a champion, being defeated by Jack here, there's no way I would reconsider sponsoring you once again." He then turned to his daughter Azura, I mean Kira, you know how I stand but I can't let you do this."

"Dear" said the woman accompanying Kaiba, placing her hand in his shoulder "you promised her, you've got to let her do this." Kaiba simply closed his eyes a bit mad, but knowing it was truth.

"Fine Carol, I'll let her do this." Said Kaiba, turning to the area which seemed big enough for a duel to take place "But first, Akio and Lily, some people wanted to come here to meet you." He added, as 5 more people came from the elevator's direction.

Akio and Lily were surprised to see who they were, Akio's parents were walking towards Akio "Akio, you've done a great job being a Paladin:" said Yugi, as Akio hugged him immediately.

"My dear Akio is following the steps of the family!" said the red haired Ichigo, Akio's mother "It makes me remember of the days we fought to protect Domino City."

"Brother I'm happy to see you fine." said a woman of about Akio's age, about 17 years old "The Paladins really are strong, you've become a strong duelist."

"Thanks Anzu sis." replied Akio, embracing his family.

Lily on the other hand went to meet a tall and dirt toned blond haired man, with brown eyes, wearing a blue denim jacket with a white shirt underneath the jacket, blue jeans; beside him, a woman with blond hair and purple eyes, wearing a white shirt underneath a purple sleeveless jacket, a purple skirt and long white fingerless gloves "Mom, Dad!" she said, running to them.

"Lily, how you doing?" said her mother holding her "Wow, you've grown up a bit more since we let you go with Yugi's son, that's good right dear?" The man simply smiled, nodding while turning to Kaiba "Hey Kaiba, it looks your daughter has you all wrapped around her finger, right?" said the blond man, teasing Kaiab.

"Silence Wheeler, you're no one to say that." Replied Kaiba to which Joey began angering a bit.

Jaden was way too amazed of the sight, four of the legendary duelists of the Gold Era of Dueling Monsters where before his eyes, while most people only recognized Yugi and Kaiba "I can't believe it, Yugi, Joey, Kaiba, and Mai are her!" he shouted eagerly as his comrades of Duel Academy realized it soon, while the new members of the group barely distinguished them.

Yugi immediately turned to Jaden and Yusei, having the feeling that the young Turbo Duelists hasn't met with him in the past, but it will be soon "It's nice to see everyone again. We decided to come here to greet you on your victory over the Wicked Gods."

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><p>Kira Azura, Kaiba's daughter immediately sighed, calling the attention and then smiling as it really worked out well "Good, now Rafael, what do you say of the duel?" she asked once again, pressing Rafael yet again.<p>

Rafael simply sighed, turning to face her "Very well, let's make this for the old times, okay Azura?"

"Right!" replied Kaiba's daughter while her father got a tad angry she let Rafael call her that way "Now, if I win you will have to be my boyfriend for real!"

"Hey, that was never part of the deal!" replied Rafael losing his head, as everyone began laughing a bit. Both duelists readied their decks, while Kira added a single card to his deck. Rafael was tempted to use one he just built, but that deck needed a lot of tests yet, he went on with his usual deck of Dragons and Dragoons, hoping it could work fine "Let's see, Kira's deck iis pretty much like Kaiba's, but she speeds up the summoning of her White Dragons." He said in thoughts, while Kira simply smiled, her Duel Disk ready "Moreover, she rounds only those dragons, this might be a tough duel if she improved her deck in the past months." He said; his duel disk switching on too "Let's duel!" shouted both of them, drawing their cards.

**Azura -4000 LP, Hand 6; Rafael-4000 LP, Hand 5**

"Ladies first, here I go!" she said smirking while getting her card "I'll start up summoning Shining Angel in defense mode!" a white robed male angel appeared in the field, taking defense stance in front of Azura "Then I set 2 cards, your move Rafael."

**Azura -4000 LP, Hand 3; Rafael-4000 LP, Hand 6**

Rafael simply got his card, trying to think something "Very well, I'll start this due summoning Blizzard Dragon in attack mode, now I'll activate its ability to freeze up your angel!" added Rafael, as his dragon shot an ice beam at Azura's dragon, freezing it solid "Now Blizzard Dragon attack!" the fish-like headed dragon simply hit with its fin-wing the solid ice, breaking it into pieces, while Azura simply smiled.

"With that, I can Special Summon any Light-Attributed monster with 1500 attack from my Deck now! Come forth Kaibaman!" she said, as his father's self-monster appeared in the field smiling, Rafael somehow felt he knew that one, as it seemed if it was the one that he had as a Spirit companion before.

"Very well, I set a card and end my turn." said Rafael as he called off "Up to now your Deck seems like always, however you surely modified it."

Azura simply giggled "Well, that's something you'll have to find out."

**Azura -4000 LP, Hand 4; Rafael-4000 LP, Hand 4**

"My turn! Draw!" said Azura eagerly as she smiled upon the card she got "I Special Summon, **Kisara, Lady of White Dragons**!" a young woman with pale skin appeared, with blue whitish hair and wearing clothes somewhat similar to those of Kaibaman, yet more fitted for a magician or an enchanter.

"Oh no, I can see what's coming now." Said Rafael worried, while Azura smiled.

"Now I bring forth **Fortune Dragon**!" she added as a yellow golden statue-like dragon appeared in the field, roaring fiercely "And finally for the finale, I activate W**hite Dragon Lords**!" a card with the image of Kaibaman, Kisara, and another dragon monster between them as the shadows of giant dragons appeared behind them "By releasing Kaibaman, Kisara, and a dragon-type monster, I can Special Summon 3 Blue Eyes White Dragon from my Deck!" said Azura, as her three monsters became light rays, as the 3 Blue Eyes White Dragons appeared in the field "Now I activate Polymerization to attack with Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" she added, as her 3 mightiest dragons fused to form the fearsome three-headed dragon "Now, **Fortune Dragon** effect activates. When it goes from the field to the graveyard by the effect of a card you control, I draw 6 new cards from my Deck."

"But since it was by your own card's effect, what will it trigger now?" asked Rafael a tad nervous.

"We both draw cards until we have 5 cards in our hands." She said, Rafael getting nervous since she depleted her hand on purpose to refill it "Now Ultimate Dragon, attack! Neutron Blast!" the three headed dragon began charging its mighty strike, three energy streams in each mouth, firing them immediately against Rafael's lone monster "This duel is almost mine!"

"Not at all!" replied Rafael while Negate Attack appeared in the field "I had a feeling you would try to bring that colossal dragon as soon as possible, but to be sure I had this card just in case. Negate Attack's effect enters now, ending this Battle Phase immediately!" he said smiling as the attack got swallowed in a vortex, ending the Battle Phase.

Azura simply smiled "Not bad at all, I end my turn now." She said smirking, which made Rafael more nervous of what was to come.

"It seems this young woman is some strong duelist." Said Sara while staring at the duel, Yusei turning to her "Rafael is thinking quite a lot his moves, in most duels he doesn't."

"Well, she's Kaiba's daughter." said Alan, joining his twin sister "I wonder, will Rafael use his own Blue Eyes White Dragons to face her? It would end in a tie for sure if that happens."

"Rafael will find a way to win this." said Yusei confident, while smiling.

**Azura -4000 LP, Hand 5; Rafael-4000 LP, Hand 6**

"Here I go, draw!" said Rafael, as he got his card, thinking for a moment what he could do to face the mighty dragon his rival was using now "I activate Blizzard Dragon's effect, freezing solid your Ultimate Dragon for an entire round." Said Rafael, as his fish-headed-like monster shot another ice beam at the ultimate dragon, disabling it completely "Next I change my monster to defense mode and set 2 cards to end my turn."

"Hmmm, aren't we losing control of this duel?" said Kira smiling, while Rafael smirked "This was far easier than I thought, where did the Rafael that put up a nice fight go to? He's not here at all."

"Aren't you going quite ahead of yourself?" stated Rafael, startling Kira a bit "I mean, sure, you have a big hitter on the field, but I've learned and remembered many things ever since I left the Pro Leagues." He said, turning to look directly at Kira "The bigger they are, the harder they fall. This duel is not over until the last card is played!"

"Then I guess you have a rough task ahead, defeating my ultimate dragon won't be easy!" she said, readying to draw her card "Draw!"

**Azura -4000 LP, Hand 6; Rafael-4000 LP, Hand 4**

Kira simply giggled, anxious to make her move "Let's see, with this one I will definitely benefit the most of our decks, but should I take it easy?" she said in thoughts, holding the card; she finally closed her eyes in resolution "No, I know I can do it." She kept thinking, opening her eyes then as she was sure of her next move "Right, I release my Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon to summon the real power of the Blue Eyes White Dragons!" she said while Rafael simply got startled of it.

"Could it be…?" he said reluctantly, as beams of light came from within Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon with cracks appearing around the dragon as if it was some kind of shell breaking down.

"I summon you, Blue Eyes Shining Dragon!" shouted Kira looking serious, as a jet-like dragon, almost mechanic, with glowing signs all over its body appeared, shrieking loudly "This is the true power of the white dragons, and now its power will increase by 300 for each dragon monster in my Graveyard!" she said as the three Blue Eyes White, Blue Eyes Ultimate, and Fortune Dragons appeared in spirit form, being absorbed by the shining dragon "With 5 dragons, it'll increase my dragon's power to 4500! Attack, Shining Burst!" said Kira as her dragon began charging a powerful beam strike in its mouth, shooting it directly towards Rafael monster.

"Activate, Sakuretsu Armor!" replied Rafael nervous "I will take down that monster one way or another, Sakuretsu is my best bet right now!" he then gasped, as the mechanic like monster began glowing.

"Sorry, but it will only try." replied Kira, pointing at Rafael's trap "Whenever my dragon would be affected by a card effect, I can negate it!" her dragon then began shining brightier than before, which was a lot "Shining Diffusion!" the light then was sent as a force, striking Rafael's trap and shattering it, as the attack connected and destroyed Rafael's Blizzard Dragon "Lucky you, that monster was in defense. I set a card and end my turn."

Rafael looked a bit frustrated, that dragon would be hard to remove as his Dragoon monsters and yet, it proved to be stronger since not even his ace Dragoon would activate its effect to disable the dragon. He had to think fast if he wished to stand against the only dragon card Kaiba didn't provided him, but he knew of "That was a nice move, but I still have a lot of fight within me." said Rafael drawing his card.

**Azura -4000 LP, Hand 4; Rafael-4000 LP, Hand 5**

He then noticed it was one of his Dragoon monsters, the Dragoon Apprentice "This should do for now, I summon **Dragoon Apprentice** in attack mode!" he said as the young dragon scale armored rookie warrior appeared in the field "When my Apprentice is summoned, I'm allowed to bring forth a level 4 or lower Dragon or Warrior monster from my Graveyard or Hand, I will bring the Blizzard Dragon you destroyed." He said as the blue ice dragon reappeared "Now, I tune up my level 2 Dragoon Apprentice with my level 4 Blizzard Dragon!" said Rafael as his little warrior became two energy rings surrounding Blizzard Dragon "To protect justice and hope! Become the guardian this world needs! Blazing force and heart of a hero! Synchro Summon! Come forth, **Dragon Lord-Dragoon Guardian Protector**!" from a beam of light coming from the rings, the heavy-armored Dragoon warrior appeared, taking defensive stance immediately while Kira looked impressed "This monster will provide me some defense for now, your move now Kira."

"I must say that you thought things well." replied Kira smiling "Bringing a monster like that won't give you some edge in the duel, not enough. My turn, draw!"

**Azura -4000 LP, Hand 5; Rafael-4000 LP, Hand 4**

"Blue Eyes Shining Dragon, attack that Dragoon Protector! Shining Burst!" shouted Kira as her dragon once again fired a powerful stream of energy at Rafael's field, hitting it. Kira simply smiled, thinking Rafael's Dragoon was gone, until the dust cloud faded and it still was there, a bit wounded, but alive "What happened here? It should have been destroyed."

"Luckily for me, this Dragoon can't be destroyed in battle." replied Rafael, sighing from the close call, until Kira giggled.

"That was good, I grant you that." she said as a card appeared beside her with the image of Blue Eyes White Dragon flying in front of the large shining moon, mighty and with its folded wings "Trap card open, **Legacy of Blue Eyes**! This card will automatically equip to a Dragon type monster I control, then that monster's name will be treated as Blue Eyes White Dragon, I end my turn with that."

Rafael got nervous "Now that she knows my monster can't be destroyed in battle, she surely aims to destroy it by a card effect." He then got startled, as there was a card that would cost her an attack, but would erase his Dragoon for good "I've got to move quickly, else she'll win this duel."

"I'd say you have about two rounds left, make them count my dear." said Kira smiling eagerly. Kira already planned her last moves "It's obvious he'll try to save his monster from destruction with another card, my face down Typhoon will erase it next turn. Then I use my **Neutron Radiation Booster **next turn, handing down all the attack power to any dragon or monster I summon that's not my dragon to get the game done, marvelous." She thought, already planning "This is like a dream come true." She kept saying in her mind.

**Azura -4000 LP, Hand 5; Rafael-4000 LP, Hand 5**

"This is it." Said Rafael about to draw his card "Come on Deck, show me the road!" he said drawing the card, then simply getting a bit confused and nervous, but he didn't hesitate anyways "I set two cards and end my turn."

"Hmmm, I didn't actually expect that." Said Kira a tad surprised "Two additional sets to the one you had, that makes it a 1/3 of chances I can win this."

"You'll have to choose wisely Kira." replied Rafael, still a bit nervous "Your move."

**Azura -4000 LP, Hand 5; Rafael-4000 LP, Hand 4**

"Here goes nothing!" she said drawing her card and then getting her typhoon ready "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, allowing me to destroy one of your set cards." She then pointed at the one in the middle "That one will be destroyed! I'm sure that's your life saver!" she said as the card was revealed as Waboku being destroyed "Good!" said Kira quite amazed she hit it, forgetting the other two "Now I activate my spell, Burst Stream of Destruction!" she said as Blue Eyes Shining Dragon began charging its predecessor's signature attack "With this card I will destroy all monster's you control! Your Dragoon won't survive this time!" she said as her dragon fired the stream, consuming the Dragoon as it disappeared.

Sara looked rather confused, she knew Rafael could pull the Dragoon's effect to bring another from his Deck, but he didn't "What is he planning?" she asked almost murmuring "Normally he plays more serious than this."

"Now, my 'Blue Eyes White Dragons' won't be able to attack, but I can solve that by summoning Blade Knight to the field!" added Kira as her white bluish armored knight with sword and shield appeared "Next I activate my Trap card! **Neutron Radiation Booster**!" she shouted as a card with the image of a huge light entity that was merging with other Light Attriibute monsters, Jack, Queen, and King's Knights, Blade Knight, and Gilford the Lightning "With this card I can tribute a Light Attributed monster from my field and then increase the Atk and Def on another by the same amount of the tribute monster's Atk and Def respectively!" she said as her mighty dragon disappeared, with its spirit strengthening Blade Knight to a total of 6100 Atk points "This is game now, go Blade Knight!"

Kaiba seemed happy that his daughter was about to win the duel, until it hit him by seeing Rafael smiling after that "Wait Kira, don't do it yet!" he shouted as Carol, his wife turned to their daughter.

Blade Knight's power was just enough to end the duel in a single move, yet Rafael seemed unmoved by it "I must say it was a nice duel, but you're now mine my dear." added Kira smiling until Rafael pointed at her.

"It was indeed a good duel, but even if I hate doing this, I won't lose right now!" replied Rafael, triggering his trap card, a Magic Cylinder "Magic Cylinder will turn back that attack towards you Kira, sorry." Upon hearing that, Kira was astonished as Blade Knight entered one cylinder, coming from the other straight for Kira, taking out her LP in a single move. The duel was over. Kira simply fell to the ground on her knees, somewhat disappointed she failed at choosing which trap card to take out. Rafael simply sighed, as it was a really close call for him. He then turned to Kira, walking towards her and lending his hand "It was a nice duel Kira, I never thought you would bring that early your Dragons. I'm quite amazed." He said.

* * *

><p>Kira simply smiled back at him, taking his hand to stand up and stare at him "Well, maybe I lost this time, but there's always a second chance." She added, letting go of Rafael's hand as he turned back. Kira quickly got ahold of him, hugging him forcefully "We had a deal, you won't be my boyfriend for now, but that doesn't mean I can't do this!" she said, as everyone began laughing at the sight.<p>

Kaiba simply looked disappointed, but then he showed a low smile, with Yugi and Joey getting near to him "Your daughter resembles you in a fashion, she's as determined as you to get what she wants." Said Yugi.

"Yeah, and quite stubborn like you." added Joey making fun of Kaiba "If she would end up like you that would be bad news." Ichigo then kicked him where it hurt the most.

"Joey, stop making fun of people like that!" she said scolding him while Mai simply giggled a bit "Everyone matured a bit, save for you." Joey simply grumbled a bit, still remembering the kicks and suffering Ichigo Momomiya made him go through many years ago.

"Maybe she will fulfill what I couldn't, Mutou." Replied Kaiba, staring at the gang as Lily and Akio greeted Kira "Maybe one day, she will defeat your kid in a duel."

"Who knows?" asked Yugi, turning to Yusei and Jaden, as the latter one approached the Legendary Duelist "It's been a long time Jaden."

"For sure Yugi!" replied Jaden eagerly "Oh and thanks for the tip you gave me, it helped me quite a lot. Getting new Heroes and finding my way back here."

"I hope you haven't said too much to Yusei of what is to come." Said Yugi, concerned Jaden may have already warned Yusei. He got relieved when Jaden shook his head "We can't alter the flow of time, it will be when they finish the first bridge connecting the City and Satellite, like in a year."

"Yeah, well, I'll stay here and watch over them." Replied Jaden "By the way, care to duel one last time? For old times?" Yugi simply chuckled a bit.

"Sorry Jaden, but my legacy is with my son." He said, turning to Akio as they still talked of the duel that took place "You'll have to face him instead; he's far more of a challenge than I was." Jaden simply got pumped up, but decided to calm down a bit.

* * *

><p>"Oh, I guess we should make proper presentations now." Said Kira, as she stood by her parents, everyone turning to them "For those of you who don't know, this is my father, Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp; this is my mother, Carol, she comes from America and they are my parents." She then winked her eye "And I'm Kira Azure Kaiba, the real heir of the White Dragons."<p>

"Well, most of you know them already." Said Akio going to meet his family "But for those that recently met me, this is my father, the Legendary Duelist and Hero of Old Domino City, Yugi Mutou; my mother, also a great heroine of Domino City and Tokyo, Ichigo Momomiya; my younger sister, Anzu Momo." He said introducing his family "And I'm Akio Ichigo Mutou."

Lily did the same, getting between her mother and his father "And here are my parents, Joey Wheeler, best friend of Yugi Mutou and one of the best duelists of the Gold Age of Duel Monsters; and my mom, Mai Valentine, also one of the best duelists of the same generation."

"That pretty much explains why the three have excellent dueling skills, right Jaden?" asked Alexis, flattering the three young duelists.

* * *

><p>The party went on a bit more, as evening was falling. When Rein and Akio where about to leave, he finally made an announcement to his friends "Aio, Lily, come here a moment."<p>

"What's up Rein?" asked Akio, while Lily hold his hand. Kira then moved towards them as Rein looked serious.

"Since your great performance during the incident with the Dark Signers, Rafael and Sara have talked with the HQ already about this."

"There's really not much we can teach you guys anymore." Said Rafael, accompanied by Sara.

"So we decided you are ready to become a Paladin Unit, here in New Domino City." Added Sara, as Lily and Akio looked quite happy of hearing the news, it was their dream ever since they rolled in.

"For the team to be complete" added Rein "Kira will be added to your ranks." He said, as Kira showed them her Paladin ID "I'll leave the security of the city in your capable hands, Akio." He said, bidding farewell to his friend.

"Thanks Rein, to you too Rafael and Sara." Replied Akio quite happy "We won't fail you."

"Talking about farewells." Said Alan walking with Emily towards Rafael and Sara "Guys0 it was nice to see you again, but we have to return to America now."

"That's too soon Alan, it's not fair." Said Rafael, teasing a bit his friend "I'm glad you guys came, thanks for the help controlling things here with the Dark Generals."

"That's our duty." said Emily smiling, as she and Sara hugged each other dearly "I'll miss you Sara, take care of yourself."

"Thanks Emily."replied Sara sobbing a bit "Take care of my brother, he might look tough and all, but he's such a mess sometimes."

"Well, Misty and I must go too." Said Aster, as he and Misty readied too for the farewell "But not for too long, so don't worry."

"With what Aster uncovered of my brother, we will attempt to rescue him." Said Misty determined "We will find Toby, even if we have to travel all around the globe."

"You don't have to." Said Rafael, taking off a special GPS designed by Alan's father "I managed to pinpoint the location where Toby is kept, with a few more psychic duelists. He's somewhere around France." He said, handing Aster the GPS "Take care Aster, I wish I could do something more to help you guys out."

"You don't have to." Replied Aster, as Misty looked quite relieved to know where her little brother was "See you later guys."

* * *

><p>South America, Amazon jungle. Having traveled as fast as possible, Reginald was still looking at the map of the jungle, using his three cards of the Wicked Gods to locate the Temple, but with no luck "Damn it all, it's supposed to be somewhere around here!" he shouted impatient "Archfiend Prince, are you sure the Temple is here?"<p>

"Not the Temple." said the prince smiling "But the gate that leads to it." Reginalld simply rolled his eyes in disappointment of hearing that.

"Oh, that's just great." He said angrily.

"Why don't you look up ahead? You may be surprised of those strange ruins there." said the Archfiend Prince, as Reginald did so, finding some really old ruins ahead. Reginald simply smirked eagerly, beginning to laugh madly, knowing the Temple was close to be discovered.

"May this world be ready for the greatest of the threats it has faced!" he shouted, entering the ruins "Because darkness will rule it all!"

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><p><em><strong>LightLord92: Next time on Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds!<strong>_

_**Reginald: So I get to be the star for once? Excellent.  
>Archfiend Prince: Don't get too cocky, Reginald. We've completed half of our task, we must awaken the Dark Gods now.<br>Guardian Lady: Excuse me, are you a traveler sir?  
>Reginald: Ummm, sure, I was wondering where to find a huge ancient temple.<br>Guardian Lady: You've found it sir, but this area is guarded by the Paladins, so I must ask of you to leave, or you could come with me to my house.  
>Guardian: That won't happen, stay away f that demon now!<br>Reginald: Heh, pathetic indeed. Love, trust, friedship, what good they are when darkness consumes everything!**_

_**Jaden: This and more, next time on Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds, Episode 2: The Wicked Temple appears, Reginald's Scheme starts!**_

_**Reginald: No guardian will stand in my way! Wicked Dredaroot, obliterate all!  
>Guardian Lady: I hope you find peace someday, Reginald.<br>Reginald: Who needs peace…  
>Wicked Dreadroot: When darkness rules the world!<strong>_

_**Jaden: Things smell bad here; don't forget to review if you liked it!**_

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><p><em><strong>New Cards of the Day<strong>_

**Neutron Radiation Booster, Normal Trap Card (image of a huge light entity that was merging with other Light Attriibute monsters, Jack, Queen, and King's Knights, Blade Knight, and Gilford the Lightning)**

Tribute 1 LIGHT Attribute Monster on your side of the field. Select 1 Monster on your field and increase that Monster's Atk and Def by the respective Atk and Def of the Tribute Monster's until the end of your End Phase.

**Legacy of Blue Eyes, Continuous Trap Card (image of Blue Eyes White Dragon flying in front of the large shining moon, mighty and with its folded wings)**

When activated, equip this card to 1 Dragon-Type monster on your field. That monster's name is ''Blue-Eyes White Dragon''. You can Special Summon 1 Dragon-Type

monster from your Hand.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, there goes the first chapter; until next time guys! See you later! Right now, I'm not quite inspired to put something else here, but I was thinking of maybe starting to check things up for a new idea of a fanfic, possibly involving Metroid and Star Wars, not so sure even so, but well.<br>LightLord92, standing by.**


	2. Episode 2: The Wicked Temple appears

**Hello guys, LightLord92 back with chapter 2. I decided to take a different direction with this one, since duels don't make a chapter that good on their own, some drama and things of the sort are needed and this is one of my first attempts at it hope you like it. And the character's profiles are a bit updated, with usual clothes and Kira added, check them out in my profile page if you want to know a bit about them while I work in the drawings.**

**Oh, have you guys ever seen an anime that has, not change your life, but maybe the way you see life? This is my first time seeing an anime that has actually made me think of everything I've done, re-evaluate my own life and hit me deep with the topics it develops. A few of you may already know it and could possibly agree with me, but for those who don't the anime that does this is Clannad, both season, and I must say the 1st one had that much of an impact on me. I strongly recommend it to those of you looking for an anime to watch this year, it's quite beautiful, entertaining, funny, and as I said, makes you think (or in another case, shed a tear or two), and that's the reason I'm going to keep duels not too overflowing like in Darkness Awakens. There will be duels, Yu Gi Oh! wouldn't be that without them, but I felt like turning to history, character development thanks to that anime.**

**The main character this time is Reginald, our beloved villain and arch nemesis of Rafael, but maybe this turn around was needed, this time our villain has the chance to play as hero (for a change) in his quest of life. Now, today's chapter!**

* * *

><p><em>LightLord92: Previously, on Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds, our heroes have celebrated a party in the apartments where Rafael lives.<br>Rafael: Goodwin wanted me to take his place, I'm not sure if that's the right thing to do, but I will.  
>Mina: Calm down Rafael, you'll do well, I'm sure of it.<br>Rafael: Then to sum it up…could you let go of me already Kira? Last episode was over some time now.  
>Kira: I returned to the scene to take you, my dear.<br>Sara: She thinks Rafael is her boyfriend and even challenged him to a duel for that. That's not the truth, right Rafael?  
>Rafael: Do you actually believe her?<br>Kira: Now, now my dear, don't make a scene, please.  
>Alan: Then after it, Emily and I decided to leave the city, our duty here is done; Aster and Misty too, looking for Toby around Paris I guess.<br>Reginald: Poor idiots, you have no idea what's to come yet, now that I found the Wicked Temple!_

* * *

><p><em><strong>LightLord92: Episode 2-The Wicked Temple appears, Reginald's Scheme starts<strong>_

Walking towards ruins he found, realizing they had strange writing patterns and geoglyph-like drawings that seemed carved by the Archfiend sect in the old days of the Paladins and the original Signers "After all this time, we have everything set now." Said Reginald staring at the ruins "The Wicked Temple, it looks majestic and yet" he says doubtful "is this really the only way we can bring back the Wicked Gods to this world?"

The Archfiend Prince took a spiritual form by his side, smirking deviously "That's right Reginald, but first, we must find the entrance of this gate."

Reginald simply turned to him, quite arrogant "Care to repeat that?" he said getting angrily "Wasn't this the temple itself?"

The Archfiend Prince simply laughed out loud "I never said that, I told you the gate to the temple was hidden in these ruins. Now, we need to find it. Then we'll arrive at the real temple, to revive the Wicked Gods after all these years."

Reginald simply calmed down "You better pray there are no Paladins around here." He said reluctantly, turning to the ruins "If they find us out, we can say goodbye to our dream."

"Not a chance Reginald." Added the Archfiend Prince turning serious and angry "No matter what happens, we've got too far to let them simply steal our chance of reviving our Wicked Gods, even if it means…"

Reginald finally understood what the prince meant, shocked of it "Wait, are you for serious? It will be me who will end up paying the price if we fail!"

"Then we better not fail. Once we finish our business here, you'll be confident enough to defeat anyone, even Rafael and Yusei." He said, sensing someone nearby "I've got to go, don't fail me, Reginald." added the prince disappearing.

"Hey, wait a second!" said Reginald, as a young woman approached him.

* * *

><p>"Hey, do you need any help there?" said the gentle woman, approaching Reginald, who turned to her, startled to see her; it was a brown haired gray eyed woman in her early 20s, wearing a red tank top underneath a gray sleeveless jacket and red mini pats, wearing brown fingerless gauntlets "I heard an alarm here and came to investigate the area around to see if there were any trespassers." She said, getting a bit nervous at seeing Reginald, the black haired man with his old gray suit, a bit worn out, as well as his gray pants, with an equally worn out long gape that he used to cover himself "Wow, we don't receive travelers around and even so, you look really bad."<p>

"Well," replied Reginald a bit embarrassed "forget it, I'm travelling here to explore theses legendary ruins I heard of in a child's tale, just to prove out their existence." He said turning to the ruins "They seem fascinating." He then thought a moment "Is it my imagination or is this woman not a Paladin? Let's test it out." He though, turning to the woman "I've heard these ruins were used by a long forgotten, extinct sect that worshipped demons."

The woman simply giggled a bit "Well, you're quite smart and know a lot about legends. That's right." She then turned "However, this is just the entrance to the real place where they lived and gathered." She added, as Reginald felt quite disappointed he was the only one believing the ruins were these ones.

"Told you." said the Archfiend Prince, appearing behind Reginald.

"Did you hear anything?" asked the brown haired woman a bit nervous and scared "It was like, a demon's voice or something like that."

"D-don't be ridiculous, there's nothing like demons in this world." Replied Reginald, a tad nervous as the woman turned to him.

"They do exist, but we actually make sure no one notices it." She said recklessly, then making a shocked anime expression "Oh no, I just told him about our organization!" she shouted quite blushed as Reginald had a sweat drop in his head.

"Excuse me, I'm here." He added, making worse the embarrassment of the woman.

The woman simply sighed, disappointed and getting down a bit "Well, no sense on avoiding it. The truth is I'm a member of an elite force known as Paladins of Light." She said embarrassed.

"You're kidding me right?" asked Reginald, teasing her without wanting that "I mean, if you're like that, wouldn't you need to keep it as a top secret?"

"Yeah, but you found out." She said quite depressed, turning to Reginald "I'm sorry, I never act like this, really. Furthermore, I'm afraid to tell you that only Paladins are allowed to enter."

The Archfiend Prince appeared again "This will be the last time, you must get her to tell you where to go now, guide you to the gate and awaken the Gods; I'll have to go now, good luck." said that, the prince disappeared.

"Damn you Archfiend Prince." Thought Reginald, turning to the still depressed woman "Well, ummm, don't worry about that, maybe I teased you without meaning it, I'm sorry." He said, as the brown haired woman turned to face him, starting to smile.

"Thank you, don't worry about it, really." She said happily, as Reginald couldn't help but see Sara in her, somehow, which made him get nervous a bit "By the way, my name is Yuuki. Nice to meet you, Mr…"

Reginald doubted a moment, knowing the woman was a Paladin, but for some reason he felt he could tell her "The name is Reginald. Nice to make your acquaintance."

Yuuki stared a bit at him, trying to see something which made Reginald think he choose wrong after all "Reginald, that's a cool name." she said which made Reginald fall to the ground "Well, I suppose that since it was no demon but you Mr. Reginald, I could give you a tour through the ruins, if you may like." She said eagerly.

"I would like that, studying it closely would help me in my investigation." Replied Reginald, as the woman simply smiled, telling him to follow her as she began climbing a rock pile that fell "Good, this will be easier than I thought" he said, following to climb and doing it quickly, as he looked at the sunset that reflected light on Yuuki's face, as she turned towards Reginald smiling "but for some reason…I feel quite unease now. Why?" he asked to himself, realizing the Archfiend Prince abandoned him since a reply of him would already been heard.

* * *

><p>As the day went by, the sunset barely ending, Yuuki decided to stop by a little area in the ruins where they could rest for now "We'll stop here for the night."<p>

"What? But I need to-" replied Reginald, once again seeing Sara in Yuuki.

"Pardon me, but I don't like to…travel around here at night." Replied Yuuki saddened, as she lit a fire, taking a seat on its right while Reginald took the left one, a bit impatient.

"Why is that?" asked Reginald, as he turned back hearing strange sounds outside, as lights began appearing, surprising him "I see, this place has a high spiritual connection. Those are souls of either the dead or, as some legends say, of the Spirit Realm."

Yuuki simply nodded shivering a bit "That's right…" she said hesitant "These are both of those you said…spirits of those who died here…and spirits of the Spirit Realm…" she then held her feet, hiding her head between arms and feet.

Reginald kind of understood what really happened "How did you end up here, being afraid of ghosts as you are right now?"

Yuuki immediately stood up shocked Reginald said that "T-t-that's not true! I'm not afraid of ghosts or spirits!" she said confidently, while Reginald noticed a little light sphere which took the form of a Petit Dragon appeared by her left side while she kept staring at Reginald.

"Well, let me tell you this. Look at your left." said Reginald serious, as Yuuki turned just to see the Petit Dragon that was roaring lowly, almost yawning. Yuuki just stood there a moment, almost frozen, before jumping and staying by Reginald's side "Hey, don't be so scared of it, that's one of the most friendly spirits."

"Are you kidding? They are vicious attacking!" replied Yuuki scared. The Petit Dragon simply sweep by to her, Yuuki still worried "Is it…going to attack me?" she asked to Reginald nervous, who simply shook his head in disapproval. The Petit Dragon landed on Yuuki's shoulder, still shivering of the nerves. The dragon then moved to Yuuki's lap, yawning again and falling asleep "Hey, it actually looks…cute." She said, petting the dragon which fell asleep "I think I'm not afraid that much now." She added, as Reginald simply smiled a bit.

"Well, you shouldn't be afraid of little guys like this." said Reginald, closing his eyes "The ones that are really scary are the members of the Fiends of Destruction."

"Oh you know about them?" asked Yuuki still petting the dragon "Say, you know a lot about the legends of the Paladins, how is that?" she asked, then laughing a bit "Sorry, I forgot you said you're a Paladin."

Reginald simply smirked "Well, that aside, how come you are afraid of spirits like these ones?" he asked to Yuuki, who looked down.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she asked while looking at Reginald "It's just that, I'm a newbie, rookie, whatever you'd like to call me. My family's legacy is to take care of stopping everyone but Paladins from entering here."

"That pretty much avoids the question." stated Reginald.

"Sorry, but it is…ever since I was a little child I had this 'gift' to see spirits, not only those." She said, clearly stating that she has seen the dead. Reginald simply felt pity for her, because something like that of course would shock a little girl "But never mind, I'm gradually going to overcome this."

"It's nice to have goals like those." said Reginald, staring at the sky.

"What about you?" asked Yuuki curious of Reginald's past.

"What do you mean?" he replied eluding the question "I've got nothing to talk about, really."

"Uh huh." Said Yuuki noting Reginald really didn't wanted to talk about it "You can trust in-"

"We should sleep; tomorrow we'll continue looking for that gate." replied Reginald, falling asleep. Petit Dragon the yawned, waking up.

"Hey little guy, how you…doing?" asked Yuuki, still nervous. The little dragon simply tried to answer roaring lowly "That's good." She then turned to Reginald, who was asleep "It seems he's in…some pain related…to his past." The little dragon simply began moving a bit in Yuuki's lap, flying to see her face as she looked still nervous "I wish I could help him more before he returns to his home." She said, bidding fare well to the dragon and going to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Reginald woke up last, noticing it was already mid-day "What in the hell? Why so late?" he asked to himself angrily, turning to Yuuki for some answers but not finding her "Yuuki?" he asked, looking for her around the area they were asleep, but without finding her. He returned a bit later, frustrated he didn't find her nearby, thinking she could have find the truth about him and left to call the paladins "Crap, if that's true then I should move on my own now." He said standing up and heading out, until he noticed a piece of paper well-hidden where Yuuki was "What could this be?" he asked, picking it up and looking at it, indeed a letter.<p>

"Dear Reginald, I went out to find some food. I did by 10 am, it shouldn't take long. I left you sleeping because you didn't rest well in the night. I should be back by 12 pm, see you until then! Signed-Yuuki." was written on the letter; Reginald simply smirked, but finding something odd "Wait a second, she should be back then." He then took a look around, still no sight of her. He then shook his head, gritting "Why am I worrying about her, anyways? I can find the temple without her help." He added, taking his belongings and readying to leave, but feeling something odd inside himself. He turned back and simply grumped "Damn it, I'll go look one more time for her." He said, running to a direction he didn't take before.

It looked like an odd entrance within the ruins; jagged rocks were all around while Reginald turned on a pocket lantern, looking around but with no luck "Yuuki, are you here?" he asked shouting, as the echo flew throughout inside, creeping him a bit "Crap, I can sense a formidable spirit energy around here." He said, as he began feeling something more was around there "If she's here alone, she'll just get the worst scare of her life. YUUKI!" he shouted again, hoping to hear her but no reply came.

Reginald was about to leave when he thought heard something deep within the ruin "…i…al…" the echo flew to him, which made him run deeper in the ruins, trying to locate where the voice came, thinking it was Yuuki indeed "e…in...al…" Reginald kept going, turning to some stairs at his right going below, still continuing "…eginald" what he heard as mutters were getting stronger, as he turned to left this time, just to be face to face to a strange altar-gate where two shadows kept tied Yuuki "Reginald, you came!" she shouted, upon seeing his companion, who simply looked at the shadows.

"Let's see what we've got here." He said as both shadows began materializing in Beast of Talwar and Dark King of the Abyss "I must say I expected others, but well, what can we do about it?" the fiends simply roared fiercely, while approaching to Reginald "Yuuki, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied, quite blushed now "Be careful Reginald, these things are nothing like the little dragon we saw yesterday!"

"I know." He said, cracking his knuckles and flexing a bit while the 2 fiends still approached him "You don't know with whom you are messing, right? Pathetic, I feel pity for you guys." He said as Beast of Talwar tried to cut Reginald in half, but the latter simply covered himself with the Duel Disk in his right hand, stopping the strike of the sword and startling the fiend.

Reginald simply smirked, while keeping the lock and noticing the Dark King of the Abyss charging a magic attack while aiming at him "Now's my turn." he replied, pushing backwards the beast fiend and almost throwing it to the ground, while Reginald ran towards the king, taking it off guard by the back, smiling deviously "Now's your time to suffer fool!" he said kicking the king upwards, then turning around to hit him again but with the back of his foot, throwing off the fiend to the ground "Are you guys serious?" he asked, taunting the already nervous fiends "Back off if you guys don't want to suffer!" the fiends simply charged again, both at the same time, pushing Reginald to what seemed to be an edge, with Reginald standing as if he wasn't there, but smirking "Come at me pathetic fiends!" he shouted, as the Beast of Talwar swung his sword again, this time connecting a hit at Reginald's abdomen, but with him still hanging alright "You piece of filth!" he shouted, jumping and kicking the beast, as it fell to the bottom of the ruins. The king turned to it just to receive an uppercut that threw it out of balance, as the last fiend almost fell, getting a grasp of Reginald's knee.

"Reginald!" shouted Yuuki, scared as Reginald was pulled down, as Yuuki looked in horror how the guy she barely met was pulled down the edge; she then broke free, kneeling to the ground, still perplexed of what she saw "Reginald…he saved me…by losing…his life…" she said, almost crying until she saw a palm, holding on the edge, as Reginald was clinging to life.

"Hey, if you're not too busy" he said, joking "can you help me get up?" he said when Yuuki stood; amazed he was still alright, helping him get up.

"Reginald…how did you survive?" she asked, surprised while Reginald breathed a bit heavy.

Reginald simply let go a laugh, smiling "Well, those fiends thought I fell with them, but the truth is I managed to get ahold of a few rocks, allowing me to start climbing back here." He said, standing up but then feeling dizzy and pain.

"Reginald!" shouted Yuuki, covering her mouth as Reginald's shirt was now covered with blood "Oh no, you're bleeding a lot, what should I do?" she said, as Reginald lay on the floor "The wound seems a bit deep…"

"Pay it no mind…" said Reginald "We've got to…get to the temple…" he said, as Yuuki began treating the wound a bit, covering it with an improvised gauze, to prevent further increase in the blood loss "Why do I feel…so weak and…tired…?" he asked, losing consciousness.

"Reginald, please hang on there!" said Yuuki, as she helped him stand.

* * *

><p>Reginald slowly began opening his eyes, with blurred vision wherever he was waiting "Reginald?" asked Yuuki, as Reginald barely saw her blurred form, still regaining consciousness "Reginald, are you okay?" she asked again, as Reginald was opening them up "Thank goodness, it seems you're regaining your senses."<p>

"Yuuki? Where…am I?" asked Reginald, starting to wake up, moving from Yuuki's lap "We're still…inside the cave?"

"In a fashion, yes but not quite." replied Yuuki, giving some space to Reginald "We're in the backyards of the Wicked Temple now." She said, as Reginald was shaking his head a bit, when it hit him.

"Wait, did you say we're in the Wicked Temple?" he asked surprised "How's that so? We were still in those lost ruins in the Amazon."

"Well, do you remember when we took a brake yesterday?" she asked, trying to explain "The gate is the whole ruins we were in, when we woke up this morning; we were already in whereabouts of the temple." She said, pointing at their front. Reginald was left without words as he saw the giant dark colored temple, with an eerie air surrounding it; for an ancient building, it looked quite well kept and maintained "When we entered that illusion of what we thought were still the ruins, we were already in these areas."

Reginald simply smirked, his plan almost complete and at the grasp of his reach "Wait a second." He said, turning to Yuuki who looked somewhat worried "How did we end up here then?" he asked to Yuuki, who simply smiled at him.

"Well, when you saved me from those fiends you almost passed out. I treated your wounds the best I could and managed to stop further blood loss." She said, pointing at Reginald's bandages over his chest and abdomen.

"I…well" said Reginald a bit embarrassed "thank you for that." He said blushing, Yuuki simply giggled a bit.

"No problem, actually I should thank you." She said, being her now the embarrassed one "If it hadn't been for you, I would have surely died at the hands of those fiends." She said, turning her sight to the little fire "You're quite skilled fighting, you know some self-defense arts? You easily took charge of those fiends of before." Reginald simply stood, flexing bit as one of his wounds tore open again "Hey, you shouldn't do that, you'll tear your wounds open again!" she said, forcing Reginald to take a seat by her side and treating his wounds again.

After she attended them, Reginald simply looked at her eyes, this time not seeing Sara, but Yuuki herself; Yuuki did the same, stare into Reginald's eyes. Soon they broke eye contact with each other, feeling a bit awkward of it "Sorry, I know you want to have your space so…" she said, about to take seat, until Reginald took her hand.

"It's fine, you can sit here." replied Reginald while Yuuki smiled taking the seat "As for your question, I know how to handle those kinds of demons, I've faced many."

"Right, once again I forgot you're a Paladin." She said, looking at the fire.

"And as for your other question…" added Reginald, catching Yuuki off-guard "The one you made me yesterday. About who I am." He said, Yuuki remembering it "Some years ago, I was a student of an American Multi Disciplines High School, one of the major subjects thought there was Duel Monsters."

"Like Duel Academy's branches around the globe and that located in New Domino City, right?" asked Yuuki, thinking a moment "Thinking it through, there's one in Tokyo and another one in England too."

Reginald simply nodded "When I entered, there was a special group in school; they went by the name of Paladins, the most elite of duelists in the school. When I applied there I met for the first time" he said, thinking of Sara "an old friend I cared for a lot. As school year went by, something happened and I ended up facing off against the leader of the Paladins in there."

"You mean Commander Rafael, right?" asked Yuuki, to which Reginald nodded, getting shocked she already saw through him "Don't worry, I always knew you were Reginald, one of the main humans aiding the Fiend Army."

"Then…why guide me to these cursed grounds?" he asked worried "Don't you realize the Paladins may exile you for doing so?"

Yuuki could sense a touch of caring in Reginald's voice, behind that roughness "Well, it's just that…" she said turning to the sky "I've always thought that no matter how cold and distant people may become, inside every one of us there's something precious and warm, something that will never change." She said, turning to Reginald then "Reginald." she said, taking his had with her right one "What you believe it's your fate, what you believe is your mission, it's just a choice. You have the power to change it; you've shown me that during the travel here." She added, laughing a bit. Reginald simply looked in a state of shock, but not exactly like that, it was the first time in years that someone talked to him like that, aiming at his human side "You're a great man, I hope you will make a choice that is worth all of this." She then turned around, blushing a bit "Ummm, sorry about that, we should rest a bit for your wounds to heal." She said, as both of them went to sleep again.

"Thanks." said Reginald, before falling asleep "So she knew all along, huh? It seems…she truly believes in things." thought Reginald before falling asleep, Yuuki's words still echoing through his mind, as if they were trying to make him realize his mistakes.

Yuuki simply looked nervous, trying her best to sleep "Reginald, whatever you choose, I hope you do it not looking for revenge, but wanting it yourself." She said, shedding a tear fearing that even if she wishes Reginald to make his choice, realizing why he looked so hard for the temple, his path ahead could be totally altered and twisted.

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><p>The next morning, both of them entered the temple, looking for the famed altar where the Wicked Gods would rise again in this world, threatening to bring it down. Reginald walked a bit without making eye contact with Yuuki; he was still concerned of what would happen to her if she was find out helping him "Why am I thinking so much about it?" he told to himself in his mind "Our dream is about to come true, but…" he turned to Yuuki "She has treated me kindly, different than anyone else has, at least for a long time ago. Is it that…she means something more to me?"<p>

Yuuki on the other side turned her sight behind sometimes, looking at Reginald, still thinking something, like if she was keeping something to herself "I hope my words have reached him." She said in thoughts "Even if I just met him for two days…he means a lot to me." Before both of them knew it, they had finally reached the altar where the Wicked Gods would rise again "Here we are, Reginald." She said, a bit nervous "This is the place where the Wicked Gods will rise again." She turned around, just to see Reginald looking around the ritual room, examining the glyphs around it "Reginald is anything the matter?"

"Amazing…" he says while readying the ancient scripts as well as the glyphs "According to these scripts, when the three Wicked Gods rise from their seals, all of the world will begin to be engulfed in darkness, not only that but" he said, watching an image of what seemed to be an undead king with giant creatures by its side, creatures Reginald knew already "so the Earthbound Immortals will return too as the Underworld King?" he said enjoying it, while Yuuki seemed worried "This is something I never knew."

"Reginald, the time is short." Said Yuuki hesitantly "There's a limited time before the entire journey here becomes pointless." She said, until a sound from behind her took her by surprise. In front of the altar, a tall hooded man with a brown jacket underneath a gray cape and pants, wearing a gray bandana in the forehead stood "Oh no."

"Yuuki, I never could bear the idea that you would actually aid our enemy." Said the man, staring at her.

"But brother…" she replied, while Reginald looked serious at the man.

"Enough, traitor!" shouted the man, jumping from the altar to the ground, standing in their way "I don't want to hear about your idea of giving enemies a second chance; to my eyes you're as bad as him!"

"Don't you think you're being rough on her?" asked Reginald, meddling in the affair "Show her some respect and care; she's your sister after all. Someone you can count on and care for."

"Don't interfere, foul traitor!" shouted the man, throwing off his cape as he had readied a black colored Duel Disk "The name is Raymond and by the order of the Paladins of Light, I shall pass judgment on both of you for your crimes!"

"Don't you see it, stupid fool?" he shouted, shoving Yuuki towards Raymond, her brother "I forced her to bring me here, else she would have died. Now, your quarrel is against me; she had nothing to do." Said Reginald, hoping that would throw some sense in the older brother. Raymond simply showed a grin, while Reginald began frowning and gritting his teeth.

"That may be true, but" he said, turning to his younger sister as his face was now serious "the rules and code of the Paladins stationed in this area is quite strict on the ways of acting, Reginald." He said, as his sister began walking back to Reginald "Any Paladin must protect with THEIR LIVES the location of this temple. The secret is taken to our tombs."

"What are you talking about? That's not the orders issued by their actual commander, Rafael." Replied Reginald, realizing those couldn't be his old friend and life-long rival, it hit him immediately "I see, so now there are power struggles among the Paladins, right?" he said a bit worried "That's surprising indeed, but I won't let you do that to her."

Raymond simply activated his Duel Disk, taunting Reginald to pick the bait "Let's first deal with you, shall we? A duel to death, if you must call it like that; I know people of your like."

Reginald simply stared at Raymond, turning to his sister, Yuuki, knowing what to do. His Duel Disk turned on, as the Archfiend Prince revealed himself again behind him "Fine, I accept your challenge. Let's see if you're any good then, fool." replied Reginald, accepting the duel.

Yuuki simply stared nervous and scared; the duel was not going well for Reginald. A huge explosion hit his field, as his Shadowknight Archfiend and a Skull Lightning Archfiend were blown up to bits by what seemed to be Guardian Angel Joan and Archlord Zerato, Raymond seemed excited and enjoying the duel's outcome, as Reginald's LP hit 300, he seemed quite emotionless at the result of the duel "Hahaha! Is it true you actually were given a tough time to the commander all these years? He must be weaker than we thought." said Raymond while smirking "A new commander should take the lead then, not sure who, but one must definitely take over."

"Brother, please stop it! This is not the way to do things!" said Yuuki, trying to throw sense to his brother. Reginald simply smiled, catching off guard Yuuki and Raymond, as he then began laughing madly out loud "Reginald?"

"Come on, you call yourself a duelist AND a paladin?" asked Reginald confident "A true duelist and a true paladin have a common characteristic, no matter who your opponent is, you always duel with respect towards him and your cards. Rafael knows it, that's the reason he became a respected man and my one and only rival." He said pushing a button to trigger his last face down "This is my turn now and it will spell your doom Raymond!" he said, as he revealed his card, a Normal Trap card with the image of Terroking Archfiend, Infernalqueen Archfiend and Dreadfulprince Archfiend, firing a powerful fire blast at an opposing duelist, going through its monsters "Trap card open, **Lightning Checkmate**! When my LP are below 1000 and this trap is the only card in my field, I can Special Summon three Archfiend monsters from my Graveyard." He said, as the three royal Archfiends appeared in the field with searing flames "Then, by sending cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard, equal to the combined level of the three monsters, this turn all Archfiend monsters can attack you directly this turn!" he shouted as he took 12 cards of his Deck, sending them to the Graveyard, as a red aura surrounded his Arhcfiends "And now, the finale! Archfiends, combine your power! Attack Raymond Directly!"

The three Archfiends began charging their own fire balls, as they combined them into a greater and stronger one "Demonic Megiddo Flame!" shouted the three royal Archfiends, as the fire ball turned dark red with a purple and evil aura, as it was shot directly towards Raymond.

"Fool, you underestimated me!" shouted Raymond quite confident "Trap card open, Magic Cylinder! This will burn you to cinders!"

"Actually, that won't happened." replied Reginald smirking, as the flames passed through the cylinders, reducing them to ashes "When my Archfiends attack, Trap cards will be negated, if they are activated!" Raymond's eyes shrunk in awe, as the attack was connecting "That's checkmate now." The demonic flame ball exploded, spreading in waves as Raymond's LP dropped from 4000 to 0 in a single turn.

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><p>Raymond fell to the ground, surprised his skills were outmatched quickly by Reginald. He saw his opponent getting close to him, feeling he would finish the work "Do it now, finish me off." Reginald simply stared at him, as the Archfiend Prince took physical form "DO IT!" shouted Raymond while Yuuki just watched them.<p>

"It will be easy Reginald, let me handle it." said the prince, not waiting for Reginald's reply as he raised his sword.

"No." answered Reginald, surprising Raymond and the Archfiend Prince "Leave him alone, I won't take his life." He replied as the prince looked astonished "If it hadn't been for the past days, you would be dead by now, but…" he then turned to Yuuki, who stared at him with a smile "your sister has made me see the reality again. I don't have a need to kill you." He turned back, turning to the Archfiend Prince "I'm through with this, Archfiend Prince, I quit."

The Archfiend Prince simply turned back to Raymond, who was standing up, looking quite frustrated "You won't get away with this!" shouted Raymond, running towards Reginald, taking out a pocket knife. When he was about to stab Reginald, who turned around to react to Yuuki's warning, the Archfiend Prince appeared between Raymond and Reginald "What the-?" said Raymond, as his knife dissolved, with a dark gate opening behind him.

"Reginald may not want to kill you" he said, picking up Raymond by the shoulders "but that doesn't speak about me." He then pushed Raymond to the dark gate, as it closed. He then turned to Reginald and Yuuki "Reginald, don't throw away everything we've worked for! It is our destiny to revive the Wicked Gods!"

"No, that's your destiny Archfiend Prince." Replied Reginal seriously "My dreams were long ago broken, the day I decided to listen to you. I'll follow another path now; you're on your own."

"Is that so?" replied the Archfiend Prince, turning to Yuuki "I see, it's because this woman that you've got weak and soft, so be it." Those last words made Reginald tremble in fear, while the Archfiend Prince fired a dark sphere at Yuuki, wounding her a bit "If you don't do what we came to do, she'll die. You're choice, Reginald." He charged another one, this one bigger than the last one, possibly meant to kill Yuuki in a single strike.

"Stop! I'll do it!" shouted Reginald, as the Archfiend Prince smirked "Just, spare her."

"I will, by killing her off, from the things to come!" shouted the Archfiend Prince as he was about to fire the sphere. At that moment, the energy that still came from the Wicked Gods, began surrounding Reginald, as he stood to receive the attack, feeling nothing "Now that their aura has accepted you, revive them!"

Reginald turned back to Yuuki, his face filled with disappointment of himself. He began walking towards the altar, where 3 spaces were left in the altar, the place where the Wicked Gods were supposed to be placed, he first place The Wicked Eraser, with a dark flame firing up in a little shrine above them, the left one "Yuuki." He said, as the woman turned to him "I'm sorry, but it seems that I hadn't a choice in the end." He said with regret, placing now The Wicked Avatar, as in the shrine, to the right side, another flame lit up "I don't want to see you wounded, that's why I…"

"Reginald, it's okay." Replied Yuuki, feeling sorrow "It's my fault, if it hadn't been for me-"

"It's not your fault." replied Reginald, turning to her "You opened my eyes, when they had been shut close for a very long time. All my life, I have been seeking revenge on Rafael, but thanks to you, my perspective of life changed, even if for a brief time." He then picked The Wicked Dreadroot, placing it in the last space, as the final shrine lit up finally "Yuuki, thank you." He said, as Yuuki's teary eyes turned to Reginald "You showed me something within me that I thought lost long ago."

"Stop this senseless speech fool! Start reciting the chant now!" shouted the Archfiend Prince.

"I really cherished these last days I spent with you, they were the best of my life so far." He said smiling, then turning serious as Yuuki was about to give in to tears "Yuuki, tell Rafael of everything that happened here, everything. That's my only request of you." Yuuki quickly nodded, running away of the temple as fast as she could. Reginald simply turned back to the altar, shedding but a single tear "When the night falls and darkness has been released, the gate that keep your powers sealed shall be opened!" the flames then began getting stronger, as the shadows of the three Wicked Gods appeared in the room "Pledging my loyalty to you, the oath and pact shall be fulfilled now, with a single drop of my life" he said biting his thumb, as a drop of his blood fell to the altar "be reborn to this world!" he shouted, ending the chant as thunders and dark clouds formed outside. The shadows fully took physical form, as the Wicked Gods entered their cards once again, the darkness enveloping Reginald completely, as he tried to resist.

"Your dreams…" said a creepy voice in Reginald's mind "Your desires…Your hatred and sorrow…We've heard them." Said the voice, taking the form of the Wicked Dreadroot "With our power, they are withing your grasp."

"We only ask something of you." said another voice, taking the form of the Eraser "Eliminate our true enemy, only then your dreams will come true."

"He, who inherits the legendary power of the Warriors of Dragons, is who must go down." Said another voice, taking The Wicked Avatar's form.

"The descendant of Dread, must die!" shouted The Wicked Dreadroot, as the darkness enveloping Reginald faded, with him smiling.

"I will take him down." He said smirking deviously "There's no need for peace now, that true darkness will envelop this world!" he shouted, opening his eyes as they seemed black, as the Dark Signers had them "A new era awaits, one where darkness shall rule everything!"

"Good Reginald." Said the Archfiend Prince with an evil grin in his face "It is time we start the game, now." Reginald turned serious, upon seeing something left in the ground where he stood, reading it as something inside him changed "Peace will reign, evil will be defeated, with the true power of darkness." He said closing his eyes "We will make sure these worlds survive." He then threw the paper, walking away, to pick something in the ruins, a card that represented the terrible power the temple and the ruins had. The paper left behind, was a note Reginald wrote the day before, as if he had the feeling something bad would happen, to help him remember "Thanks Yuuki, I'll cherish every moment I spent with you. Sincerely, Reginald."

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><p><em><strong>LightLord92: Next time on Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds!<strong>_

_**Rafael: The tension is way too much! How did Goodwin managed all of this?  
>Doctor: Director Rafael, I have bad news.<br>Rafael:…How much time?  
>Doctor: I don't know, but be careful.<br>Rafael: I'm sorry guys, but things are not what I expected. I'll have to face Reginald on my own.  
>Sara: So you're leaving again? Like before?<br>Rafael: Sara I…  
>Sara: Don't say a word, it's always the same since then.<br>Yusei: Akiza, do you think we should do something?  
>Akiza: Maybe talk with them separately, to know what's going.<strong>_

_**Yusei: This and more, next time in Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds, Episode 3: Recalling the past, the Secret of the Legendary Paladins.**_

_**Mysterious Female Turbo Duelist: The time has come for the awakening; through this duel, you will realize how to find the Legendary Paladins.  
>Rafael: And overcome my past, once and for all. This time for sure.<br>Sara: Just remember, we're here to help you. Review if you liked this chapter and until next time.**_

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><p><em><strong>New cards of the Day:<strong>_

_**Lighting Checkmate, Normal Trap card (image**__**of Terroking Archfiend, Infernalqueen Archfiend and Dreadfulprince Archfiend, firing a powerful fire blast at an opposing duelist, going through its monsters)  
><strong>_You can only activates this card when your LP are 1000 or lower, your opponent's LP are 4000 or higher, and this is the only card in your field. Special Summon3 Archfiend monsters from your Deck in face-up Attack position then send cards from the top of your Deck equal to the combined levels of the Special Summoned monsters. The Special Summoned monsters can attack your opponent directly and if your opponent activates Trap cards during this Battle Phase, their effects will be negated.


	3. Episode 3: Recalling the past

**Hello everyone! LightLord92, reporting in. Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter, even if it didn't fully show Reginald's past, it indeed showed a new step towards his future in this fanfic; it was about time I gave him a chapter for himself. Well, here goes the next chapter of this volume; it will contain quite a good surprise that I hope everyone likes. Let's go to today's chapter now!**

**By the way, from here I will try out something, add some background for you guys if you want the story to be different that way. Obviously I don't take credit, don't make money with it or this fanfic, etc. Credits go to the respective owners (yeah, I said that because I'm thinking of using music from other anime too). Oh I forgot the disclaimer note.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, original plot ideas of the anime, or music from the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or Yu-Gi-Oh! GX's series or any other I try to use, they belong to Konami and Kazuki Takahashi or their respective owners; I do however own the OC's of the Paladins of Light and some cards I've been creating for the fanfic. All credit goes to their respective owners.**

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><p><em><strong>LightLord92: Previously, on Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds, Reginald finally arrived to the Wicked Temple, in hopes of restoring the Wicked Gods.<br>Reginald: However, a fateful meeting helped me relieve my past, forget what I have done; find my path again.  
>Yuuki: As a guardian and Paladin, I helped Reginald for him to realize the next path he could take in his life. I believe in him, but then…<br>Reginald: But then this strange guy, apparently Yuuki's sister, Raymond appeared, saying some interesting things of the Paladins, as well as challenging me to a duel that I won.  
>Yuuki: My brother then tried to kill Reginald, but the spirit that accompanies Reginald stopped him, by sending him to the Shadows.<br>Archfiend Prince: To ensure our victory, I had to force Reginald to join us in mind and soul. The Wicked Gods are awake now, with him, nothing will stop us now!**_

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><p><strong>(Opening: Last Train Atarashii Asa, by Knotlamp)<strong>

**LightLord92: Let's go with Episode 3: Recalling the past, the Secret of the Legendary Paladins.**

New Domino City, it has been 3 weeks now since the defeat of the Underworld King, things are fully back at normality with jobs and people back to their usual activities, while Yusei, Jack and Crow were still working with the construction team, going at a quarter of the bridge. Sector Security was a bit busy, the directives still getting used to Goodwin's choice of appointing Rafael as the new Director. On the Director's office, Rafael was checking on some papers Mina had left for him, while typing some information in his computer, regarding pending papers regarding the construction for the bridge of Satellite and New Domino City, he then sighed, tired "Man, this is quite a lot of work, I wonder how Goodwin managed to do all of this?" he asked to himself, checking all papers with care "Well, let's work on this one and then I'll take a break, I'm almost done anyways." He said checking the last ones until he heard someone knocking on the door "Come in."

The doors opened, as Mina entered, with another mid-load of paperwork "Hi Director, Rafael, I brought some more papers, the last load of the day." She said smiling, while Rafael barely turned to see those papers, then hitting the table with his head.

"Hi Mina, you can just leave them here." said Rafael, trying to calm down "There's sure a lot of paperwork now, I never saw Goodwin doing so much of this when he was around here."

Mina simply giggled "Well, normally after incidents like the ones that hit the city, as well as the joining of Satellite with the city would bring such a load of work along." She then pulled a chair, starting to read and telling Rafael of the few papers she had, regarding the tests of new recruits for Sector Security, then readying to sign them.

"Wait Mina, you don't have to do this." Said Rafael "I'm thankful, but I'll be done in a few minutes."

Mina giggled once again "I doubt it, plus if I help you it will be faster, right?" she asked, turning to Rafael a bit serious looking "I know it's been rough on you, the tension is already in you, you've slept less every passing day, so I want to help you if I can."

Rafael simply smiled, touched by Mina's care "Well, then let's get going." He said as both began checking their paperwork "Thank you Mina."

"You're welcome." She replied happily, until she noticed Rafael breathing's getting a tad forced "Director, are you okay? You seem ill."

Rafael simply let go a laugh while sweating a bit "It's nothing Mina…it's because of the wounds that I took when the Underworld King appeared." He replied a bit worried "I'm okay; it's nothing serious so far." He replied, as he turned to the computer, noting an urgent message coming from the Paladin HQ in America "What's this message?" he asked, opening it.

"Commander Rafael, my name is Yuuki, one of the Guardians of the Wicked Temple. I'm sending this message regarding an incident in the temple; the Wicked Gods have come back to life." She said as Rafael suddenly turned pretty serious "I'm sorry, I followed the ideals you proposed and in doing so, I allowed Reginald to come, for him to change, but in the end he was forced to still serve them." She added shedding a tear "Also, it appears there are troubles within the Paladins, my brother said someone inside is trying to overthrow us. I'll head to New Domino City to fill you in this matter. I'm so sorry." She said, as the message turned off.

Mina simply stared at Rafael, noting his seriousness, worrying about him "Rafael, are you okay?" she asked, as Rafael snapped out of it immediately. Mina knew he was worried about what happened just now "Rafael?"

"I'm okay Mina, thanks for asking." He replied slowly and of course worried, standing up "Mina, when are these papers due to?" he said, feeling a strange pressure over him.

"Well, they are due to next week." She replied standing up "We'll leave them here for now, I'll ask Lazar and Trudge to take care of the HQ if you want to."

"That would be nice, thanks." replied Rafael picking up his things "I will head home now; I need to think of something." He said, leaving the room and Mina behind.

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><p>As he was leaving on one of the elevators in the building, he stared at the city, looking even more serious than before "I'm sorry Goodwin, but I can't take care of the city if those Wicked Gods have indeed returned." He said, closing his eyes "Guys, it was nice to see you all again, but this is something I must do on my own." He added opening his eyes then again, determination in his eyes.<p>

A few moments later, the elevator arrived at the first floor, Rafael leaving it and heading outside of the building, until someone called for him just outside, as he was about to leave "Rafael, wait!" shouted a female voice, as Mina was tagging behind him.

"Mina, what are you doing here?" asked Rafael surprised of seeing her.

"I'll go with you, I want to help you, I already told you so." She replied, her eyes also showing determination. Rafael knew he would never convince her of anything else so he simply sighed.

"Okay, let's go. I'll check things in my apartment first." He said, as he was about to walk until he felt the pain again in his chest, this time stronger, as he stumbled, kneeling in the ground, feeling a stronger pressure this time.

"Rafael, are you okay?" asked Mina, while Rafael groaned in pain a bit "I will take you to the hospital first. Come on." She said, helping Rafael get to the van of Sector Security and heading for the nearest hospital, which happened to be the same where Rafael was taken when Akiza faced him for the first time and hurt him with Black Rose Dragon and her psychic powers.

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><p>The same doctor took him to the examination room, making tests to the commander of the paladins, to see what it could be. The examination didn't but a few hours, as Rafael's condition stabilized again, with the doctor checking on the results of the test, leaving him without knowing what it could be since he was healthy.<p>

"Doctor, is something amiss?" asked Rafael, standing from the testing bed, as he put on his jacket again.

"Well, the results indeed show you're healthy as you can be, but there's a slight problem." He said until some noise was heard from outside.

"Miss, you can't go in there! Wait you guys!" said a nurse as the door was opened from outside, with Sara, Yusei, Akiza, Mina, Jaden and Alexis showing up. The young nurse then showing off behind them.

"I'm sorry doctor; I couldn't keep them outside since they wanted to come in and..:" the nurse apologized, as the doctor nodded, turning to Rafael as it was his choice if he wanted to let them stay with him, to which Rafael simply nodded.

"Don't worry, they can stay here until we finish, which will be in a few minutes." Replied the doctor as the nurse bowed and left, closing the door.

"Rafael I'm glad you're better now." Said Yusei, as the group walked towards their friend.

"You sure gave us a big scare a moment ago." said Mina smiling a bit.

"I'm sorry to interrupt." Said the doctor, as he was about to continue "Are you sure you want them to hear this, Commander? It's your choice."

Rafael turned to his friends, sure and kind of knowing was the doctor wanted to tell him "It is fine with me, so let's hear it from you now, doctor."

The doctor sighed, opening the folder he had with Rafael's medical file, as well as showing the images of the test in his computer "The only area we seem to find a trouble with, it's your heart sir, it's pretty weakened." He said, showing the image of Rafael's heart beating rates compared to those of a normal and healthy heart "I'm not sure why, but for some reason your heart weakens a lot in certain moments, like for example the news you received before coming." Rafael then tried to recall what could be provoking this, only finding one link "This…condition is quite singular," said the doctor as he showed a few tests from the Paladin HQ "sometime in the past months, a very powerful spiritual energy stroke you, it's not the first time we've seen it, but it's been a long time since the last case."

"Those attacks from the Underworld King…" murmured Rafael, recalling how his dragons were taken down with ease by the demonic entity, striking a great amount of damage to Rafael that time. Everyone simply listened carefully, while Sara stared at Rafael, dead worried.

"This condition is simply referred to as Spiritual Pain." Said the doctor, shutting down his computer and taking the file of Rafael "Whenever a person receives damage from a powerful spirit" he said, as it was the reason this began affecting Rafael "through direct or indirect forms, in an area with a powerful Spiritual energy concentration, it begins affecting the health of the person. Stronger than pain inflicted in a Shadow Duel, whenever stress is felt."

"And since your dragons were destroyed in the battle with the Underworld King…"said Akiza worried too.

Jaden got serious all of a sudden too "It means that much damage was inflicted by the Underworld King." He said, Rafael just remained quiet a moment.

"How can it be…" said Rafael hesitant "restrained or cured?"

The doctor gave it a thought for a moment, going for the obvious answer first "Well, the easiest way is having patience, something I'm sure you don't have, more now that you're Director of Sector Security and also looking for the Legendary Paladins." He then thought a moment "I'm not sure if in a normal duel it would affect you, but you would do well changing your deck for the moment being, but I can't assure it will work completely." he replied taking a seat "I'm sorry, but there's nothing more I can do."

* * *

><p>A few hours later, already outside of the hospital, Rafael decided to go to the piers, staring at the ocean and the horizon. By now, everyone knew what was keeping him cold now, the return of the Wicked Gods and Reginald's fall to darkness, just when he left them barely.<p>

"I've got to go." Said Mina standing up as Yusei, Sara and Akiza looked at her, knowing she was too worried for Rafael too "I'll see everyone later." Alexis and Jaden left earlier, since they would inform everyone else of what just happened.

"Guys" Said Rafael breaking the silence, as Akiza, Yusei and Sara turned to him "I'm sorry, but I'll go to face Reginald to put an end to this."

Sara immediately jumped off, heading to Rafael "Do you value your life that much?" she asked, referring as how less he cared "You know as I do that only the Legendary Paladins will be able to defeat the Wicked Gods left here "We'll find them."

"Sara, I can't put any more lives in the line in this foolish quarrel." said Rafael serious, turning to her "If I stay here as Director, Reginald, or rather the Archfiend Prince, will come after me, endangering everyone in the city."

"But if you go there on your own you will only get yourself killed!" shouted Sara really angry, but caring for him; Yusei and Akiza tried to interfere.

"Sara, calm down a bit." Said Yusei, turning to Rafael "Rafael, if we fight together we can find an answer to this."

"I'm sorry Yusei, but this time it won't." said Rafael resigned, almost as if he knew he had to face the threat alone "This time…I won't allow anyone to be harmed or taken hostage." He said, recalling something as his most scary memory came to mind.

_**(Background music: Existence, Clannad OST)**_

"You still blame yourself for that?" asked Sara, realizing it was the same memory "Rafael…"

"I need some time on my own." He replied coldly, leaving the trio behind as he headed somewhere else.

"Akiza, if it's not much to ask…" said Sara as Akiza nodded. Akiza then headed to catch Rafael until Yusei stopped her.

"Akiza, we should try to help both of them." He said serious, while thinking of something.

"Yusei, we first need to know what's going on." She said, seeing that Sara reacted the same way Rafael did "Something that happened to both them, if they talk about it they may feel better and we could help them too." She added, as Yusei nodded. Both Signers then set out to put their plan on action; Akiza caught up with Rafael and asked him to go to the park, while Yusei and Sara walked around the same park, but on a different side, the sunset was rolling now.

"Sara, would you mind talking a bit?" asked Yusei, as he and Sara walked through the park, Sara turning to him a bit down.

"About, what?" she asked a bit hesitant, but knowing Yusei wanted to know of what Rafael and her passed through.

"About what Rafael and you talked in the ports, if it's not too much to ask." He said; Sara stopped a moment behind him; Yusei interpreted it as a no.

"Yusei…I care for you too." She said nervous "I know it's not right to keep it between the witnesses of that day, so I'll fill you in, if you want to."

"It's not necessary if you don't want to." Replied Yusei, patting her shoulder "Don't force yourself; maybe I did wrong asking you directly and all of a sudden."

"It's fine." She said, pulling a hard smile "I know Rafael is talking about it with Akiza too. Thanks to you two." She said grateful, as Yusei's and Akiza's plan was discovered way too soon. They then took a seat in a bench, as Sara prepared to tell Yusei of it.

In the other direction, Akiza was feeling awkward Rafael didn't say a word in all the way to the park, not even for a moment. She decided it would be her bringing the topic "Rafael, this may not be the right time but" she said, as she and Rafael stopped walking "would you mind talking about that day Sara meant?" Rafael remained silent a moment, Akiza waiting for a reply, his friend was avoiding eye contact, which made it harder for her to ask about it "You don't need to do so if you don't want to, it's okay."

Rafael remained silent a moment more "Thank you Akiza." He said, as Akiza looked a bit confused of him saying so, until he turned back to see her face to face "You and Yusei care for us, I can see that. Mina, Jaden, everyone else does, but that memory we referred earlier, it's the only thing we kept to ourselves Sara and I." he then turned to the sky "Maybe it's time that we share it with more people, it would help…relieve the pain and heal the wounds left by it." He started walking forward, as Akiza followed him "It happened some years ago, when Sara and I were in middle school, I was about to enroll on Duel Academy too, but…" he said as he felt Sara was talking of the same thing with Yusei.

"That day changed the course of our lives." Both Sara and Rafael said, as they were sharing the tale of that day.

_**(Background music ends)**_

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><p><em><strong>(Background music: Roaring Tides I, Clannad OST.)<strong>_  
><strong>Author's note: If it's not much of a problem, I'd like you guys to replay this one until it reaches the marked part where it ends, thanks, I promise you won't regret it.<strong>

"It was years ago, Sara was barely 14 while I was going to 15. Starting that year, both of us shared much time together since I was a senior taking care of the freshman that entered the school. During the sessions we sparred, as well as duels we witnessed of the other and more, feelings between both of us began developing. Eventually, both of us confessed to each other, it was a somewhat awkward moment indeed." said Rafael, recalling the good memories.

"So you and she were actually a couple ever since then, that's sweet." said Akiza, while Rafael laughed a bit.

"We were in a park within the campus; Sara was reading a book for an exam while I was working on the papers for my inscription at Duel Academy. The year was half-way to the end at the time."

"**Ummm, Rafael?" asked Sara as Rafael stood, taking a seat by his side below a tree "What will you do once you graduate from here?"**

**Rafael gave it a thought for a moment "Well, I thought of taking courses and part-time studying programing and computer stuff." He then took the papers he was checking "I also hope to get accepted in Duel Academy, maybe I can give it a try at becoming a Pro Duelist in the future, who knows? Maybe represent KaibaCorp." He said laughing with Sara a bit "Why do you ask?"**

"**F-for nothing, nothing really." She replied nervous and blushed, as Rafael got blushed too.**

"**What will you do?" asked Rafael curious "I mean, when this year is over I won't be around anymore, you still have a year to go through."**

"**I suppose I'll also apply to Duel Academy." She replied nervous "I'm not sure; I still have time to think about it." Rafael simply turned to her "I knew you would say that actually, that's pretty much like you." She gulped and then said what she wanted to "I asked that because, I would like to be in contact with you, even when you're not here." She said nervous, then getting more nervous "I shouldn't have listened to Alan and Emily! This is so embarrassing."**

"**So you also received their message." replied Rafael embarrassed too "I, actually followed their advice." He added, turning to Sara nervous "I would love to be in contact with you, you're a dear friend, but…" he then took Sara by her right hand, as Sara felt her hear beat increase "I, ummm, what do you think of…instead, becoming a couple?"**

**Sara was without words, she had a crush in Rafael ever since she entered school but never got the chance to confess, she now admired him even more, and with tears in eyes replied "Of course!" she hugging him afterwards.**

"That's pretty much how we became a couple back then." said Sara with a smile, as Yusei looked at her.

"I knew you guys were a couple, Alan told me so during the Gold Age Tournament." Said Yusei, realizing what part of the tale was to come and noting Sara getting down again "You don't need to tell me the next part; I know Reginald forced you two to break up."

Sara turned to Yusei surprised of that, with tears forming in her eyes "That's not exactly true at all." She said hesitantly and shivering a bit, cleaning the tears coming "Alan and Emily felt guilty of what happened that day, so they came up with a story close to the truth, but keeping certain things hidden." She said worried, Yusei feared the worst afterwards.

"Don't tell me he…" asked Yusei shocked, to which Sara shook her head.

"No, it's not about that." She said regaining her strength "To close the school year, a tournament took place where all students participated. Among them, one managed to defeat almost every single duelist that stood in his way, freshman or senior. It was Reginald, but he had changed by then. It happened 1 month after we confessed."

**I got to the semi-finals, but I never thought I would face Reginald by then. He was different, his mind seemed corrupted by a spirit, that of the Archfiend Prince. When I realized what was going on, I decided I would face him in order to save my friend from darkness "Reginald!" I shouted as he stopped and turned back to me "Or should I say Archfiend Prince, I won't let you use my friend anymore!"**

**Reginald smirked deviously "A Paladin has come at last, good." He turned on his duel disk and set his Deck "Won't you care to join me, my dear Sara?"**

"**What are you talking about?" I asked worried.**

"**I've always loved you Sara, I called the fiends to make this world one worth living in, with you and me ruling." replied Reginald explaining his motives "If you don't then how about a little bet in this official duel of the tournament?" he asked "If I win, you will join me as I said."**

"**Never! I would never betray my friends or Rafael!" she replied "Let go off my friend now fiend!"**

"**Then, if I lose, the Archfiend Prince will leave this place and I will stop attacking the senior students, is that fine with you?" asked Reginald cynically. I doubted a moment more "Rafael is the only one left, I want to defeat him so badly, that he will never ever duel again!"**

**I got serious immediately, noting the fiend was corrupting his mind "Fine, but keep your promise in the end!" I said, starting my own duel disk. The duel went smoothly, as I got a bit the upper hand "I fuse summon, Destyn the Runeknight in attack mode! Finish off Terrorking Archfiend now!"**

"**Bad move, my dear Sara! Trap card open! Negate Attack!"**

"**Too bad my monster can negate it by removing a spell card!" I replied eagerly "Great, I did it!"**

"**Not so fast!" shouted Reginald once more "I chain to your monster's effect Magic Cylinder now, depleting your LP!" the attack of Destyn entered the cylinder's, being backfired to me "I win the game!" he shouted as the attack hit me while I was confused and shocked and my LP drop to 0, barely standing "Now, you must keep your side of the bargain, Sara my dear."**

**I began crying, not for losing, but because of making the bet; I didn't want to but I knew he would blackmail me or threaten Rafael "Please, don't do that to him." I said, begging to Reginald.**

"**I see you care a lot of him." Replied Reginald "Well, I won't." he added smiling then "I'll defeat him, but not enough for him to quit duels, but because he failed to keep his word of helping me and stole you from me." He then placed his hand in my forehead, brainwashing me as the Archfiend Prince's spirit appeared, confirming it was possessing Reginald "This is your gift Reginald, the woman you yearned for. I hope you keep your end of the bargain." said the demon leaving his body; Reginald then took off his hand, still under the influence of the Archfiend, as I began standing up "Now, you'll break up with Rafael and tell him I'm waiting for him."**

"**Yes…Master Archfiend Prince…and my dear…Reginald…" I replied while shedding a tear as the last part of my consciousness was gone.**

"**I know you two had a date tomorrow, you'll say him there." He said smirking.**

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><p><strong>The next day came quicker. Rafael was waiting at the park for me, until I showed up looking down, I had somehow broke the mind control for a moment and I wanted to warn him, but doing so would make things worse "Rafael…" I said hesitantly.<strong>

"**Sara, you're here." Replied Rafael happily, taking me by the hand "Let's go, there's a place I want you to see." He moved, but noticed I didn't, as well as my looks "What's wrong? Is something amiss?"**

**I simply closed my eyes, trembling, as the control was coming back, crying "Rafael…I'm afraid…we won't be able to be together as I had thought…" I said, letting go off Rafael's hand abruptly, startling him "I'm really sorry!" I said turning my back and walking away.**

"**Wait Sara, what do you mean with that?" asked Rafael, I began running "Sara wait!" Rafael then began following my trail, losing me of sight as we were reaching a closed forest nearby.**

"**Sara!" shouted Rafael calling for me, concern obvious in his voice "Sara! What's going on?" he kept shouting, but by then I wouldn't answer back. Alan and Emily joined him moments later looking for me until.**

"**Well, well, we have Mr. Promises here and his two lackeys." Said Reginald, standing from a little cliff, jumping to meet with Rafael and the others "So, how was your date with Sara, Rafael?"**

**Upon asking that, they knew he had something to do with what happened earlier "So it was you. I'm going to break your face so much-!" said my brother, while Rafael stopped him.**

"**Reginald, let go of Sara now." replied Rafael, activating his duel disk.**

"**Only if you beat me." replied Reginald smirking. The duel between them went well, but Reginald pulled a winning combo "Go Terrorking, defeat Rafael and Blue Eyes White Dragon!" ordered Reginald as his king of fiends used its sword to cut Rafael's dragon in half, defeating him in the duel and throwing him to the ground "Well, it seems I'm the Alpha male now." He said laughing "Won't you agree, Sara?" I appeared behind him, brainwashed.**

"**Sara?" said Rafael, noting in my eyes that I was gone now "Sara, can you hear me? Please answer me! It's your boyfriend, Rafael!"**

"**I'm sorry…" I replied hesitant, still fighting Reginald's control but without success "My one love…is Reginald…" upon hearing that, Rafael backed down, confused and shocked. Emily and Alan reacted the same way.**

"**You heard her. Now, stand out of my way, this tournament is mine." said Reginald, walking away with me. Rafael was so shocked he stopped dueling for a while, until he found a stronger dragon that allowed him to defeat Reginald, later on, at the finals of the tournament.**

"**Reginald, it is time to settle things." Said Rafael as he walked to the arena, were Reginald was waiting for the tournament finale, he then began looking around, trying to find me "Where's Sara?"**

**The Archfiend Prince began appearing behind Reginald "You don't need to worry about her." Said the prince as Sara began appearing with a Shadow Duel being summoned "She's right there, asleep."**

"**We will conquer the world…" said Reginald, brainwashed.**

"**So you're the one behind after all, fine. Let's finish this!" shouted Rafael while the duel began. The duel wasn't clearly going well for Rafael once more; the Archfiend Prince got the upper hand quickly, controlling the field with his Archfiend monsters.**

"**Give up and I'll be merciful." said the prince overconfident "I'll even spare your life and that of everyone in here!"**

"**Never…" replied Rafael as he began standing up. I began waking up, the control gone to witness the end of the duel "I won't let you…harm anyone I care for! I'll save Sara because I love her! My turn! I now use Monster Reborn to bring back Felgrand Dragon, using its effect to target the Blue Eyes Dragon and making Felgrand's power be 4400! Go Felgrand, finish this duel!" ordered Rafael, beating Reginald and sending him to the shadows, that's when Reginald got his hatred fueled up, thinking we betrayed him. With the duel over, Rafael caught me before hitting the ground, about to cry after being strong for a long time, hugging me dearly.**

"Felgrand Dragon, right?" asked Akiza, as Rafael nodded, both still walking "That dragon is like your guardian, I remember how you used it in Arcadia Movement that time. What happened then?" she asked, as both she and Rafael kept walking.

"I discovered Sara was being controlled by Reginald and he was looking for revenge, because I couldn't help him control that spirit, plus Sara and I had become a couple by then, fueling his hatred towards me even more." He said turning to Akiza "It was inhuman, later when Sara came back I realized he was possessed, but he never did know that."

Akiza clearly saw that their past was a turbulent one, not only did the Archfiend Prince and Reginald broke them apart, but made things worse by pitting her to do their bidding "I'm sorry to hear that:" she said, then recalling the face down he and Yusei had against Reginald and how Rafael came to forgive him "But wait, in Satellite you came to forgive him and be friends, how is that after all he's done to you?" she asked surprised.

"Because it was the Archfiend Prince possessing him." Replied Rafael "Look, in the end I forgave him because he was controlled. In the past, I thought it was his choice. Now I know that's not true." He turned to Akiza looking disappointed of himself "After that, I broke my promise to Saraof being together, knowing Reginald would hunt me down to get revenge. That's why I left them, in hopes they would be spared of this mess. I just wanted Sara to be okay and safe, have a good life." He said, turning to Akiza, who was now smiling while turning ahead.

"So that's why?" asked Sara, while Yusei stared smiling too. He and Akiza were proud their plan worked out perfectly "Rafael, I…"

"That was the only reason Sara, to prevent you from passing through the same again." replied Rafael seriously "I made too many promises in the past." He added, taking Sara's hand and closing his eyes "In the end, I failed at keeping each and all of them, I'm sorry." Sara simply hugged him, like nothing had happened; Rafael did too, feeling relieve.

(Background music ends)

Rafael and Sara talked a moment, taking distance from Yusei and Akiza, who were staring at them now "Well, it seems we managed to calm the tension." Said Akiza in enjoy while Yusei looked satisfied.

"That's true, maybe things will calm down with the Paladins now." He said, as Sara and Rafael returned "So, have you two spoken things now?" Rafael nodded, turning to Sara.

"We decided to take some time, to see if we still feel the way we did back then." Said Sara, as Akiza looked somewhat down by hearing that "Don't take me wrong guys, we are in your debt for what you did."

"But first we need to sort things with ourselves." Said Rafael serious, until he and Yusei heard a strange sound approaching. It sounded like a Duel Runner's engine a few meters away, but even for that, in a park and that loud? It sounded fishy to them.

* * *

><p>Not too much later, a strange looking red shadow passed some meters ahead of them "Did you guys see that?" asked Rafael serious, as Akiza and Sara got closer to them "Yusei, what speed do you think that runner had?"<p>

"Hard to say, it was quite fast; I'd say above 100 mph, but the duelist was handling it quite well." replied Yusei, having the most knowledge of runners among them. Later it passed again, heading to them as it was lowering its speed. It was a one wheel runner with a long red colored body that seemed like and arrow, but staying on its height without being affected by the back part, which had the wheel to move by "That design is really odd, but it surprises me that it's slowing down pretty easily." He added a bit nervous.

A young woman with light blue spiked hair going backwards was getting down of the runner. She wore a red riding suit with green and yellow patterns, along with pink orbs on her sleeves; she also wore a blue colored opaque vizor, as well as a yellow ring in her hair. She turned to Rafael and Sara, moving her hand to the vizor as she began watching some information appearing in it, confirming their identities as she saw the information with her red eyes "Analysis complete, you two" she said, pointing at Rafael and Sara "Your names are Rafael and Sara, highest ranking duelists of the Paladins of Light organization." She then turned to Yusei and Akiza, confirming their IDs too "You two are Yusei and Akiza, actual Signers with Stardust Dragon and Black Rose Dragon, respectively." As she said that the group got a bit surprised of that.

"Who are you? How do you know us?" asked Rafael, standing ahead.

The mysterious woman remained quiet for a moment "I have come to teach you the way to find the Legendary Paladins, for the showdown against the Wicked Gods." She added as Rafael and Sara got surprised of hearing that "We shall have a duel, for the demonstration."

Rafael stood ahead, readying his Duel Disk "Fine then, I shall answer the challenge you propose!"

The woman simply smiled, as her duel disk, a red scarlet colored one, the duel about to begin "Let's see how you fare, Paladin. I'll take the first turn if you don't mind."

"Let's duel!" shouted both as they got their hands.

**Mysterious Female-4000 LP, Hand-6; Rafael-4000 LP, Hand-5**

"With this it should do." said the woman holding a card "I place a card facedown, that's all."

"A little start like that?" asked Sara worried "She's planning something for sure; otherwise she wouldn't have made such a move."

"Let's hope Rafael has what it takes to defeat her quickly." Said Yusei, as Akiza and Sara turned to him.

**Mysterious Female-4000 LP, Hand-5; Rafael-4000 LP, Hand-6**

"My turn, draw!" said Rafael drawing his card, staring at his hand in disappointment. Felgrand, Blue Eyes, 2 spells, a trap, and Blizzard Dragon, not too much of a good start "Well, this should do by now, I bring Blizzard Dragon to the field." Said Rafael as his blue-skinned fish-headed dragon appeared roaring "Now Blizzard Dragon, attack directly!" said Rafael as his dragon shot an ice beam at the blue-haired woman, who didn't react to it.

"You actually fell for it, you allowed me to set the stage." She said, moving her head a bit as the reflection on her vizor allowed the sight of her eye, as she was serious "Activate Wolf in Sheep's Clothing! With this, by revealing a Level 1 monster after a direct attack, I can Special Summon it!" she said, revealing a green hopper with electricity around it "Appear now, Watthopper!" she said, as the hopper appeared in the field.

"It can't be! She plays a Watt deck." stated Yusei seriously "With that kind of deck, she can easily lockdown Rafael in this turn!" Sara was looking at the field, wondering, as a portal opened.

"Then if I can bring another of the same monster from my Deck, come forth Watthopper!" said the blue-haired woman as the second hopper appeared, as an electric current began forming above the insects "Now, Watthopper restricts you from attacking any other Wattmonster I possess." When the blue-haired woman said that, Rafael got worried.

"Then it means like Marauding…" he said staring at the blue-haired woman's field "I won't be able to attack now."

"Exactly, Paladin." Replied the female duelist "This is where the fun begins."

"Then I set two cards and end my turn." said Rafael, turning to her then "If what I've heard of Watt monsters is true, then she will begin attacking me after this directly, no matter what I bring." thought Rafael, thinking something up "I must act quickly or she will end this duel quickly."

**Mysterious Female-4000 LP, Hand-5; Rafael-4000 LP, Hand-3**

"My turn now." Said the female duelist, pulling three cards "I will start bringing the Continuous Spell, Wattccine, which will increase my LP by any amount my Watt monsters inflict in you." She said as a strange aura appeared around her monsters for a brief moment "Now, I set a card and then activate the Continuous Spell card **Wattveil**." said the blue haired woman when a spell with the image of a big transparent veil with electric current appeared, as the veil appeared in the field, dividing it "This card will remain in the field until I have no Watt monsters in the field." She said coldly "Then all Watt monsters I control can't be destroyed in battle and I will suffer no damage from battles involving them. I end my turn now."

"This ain't good, she's got me quite locked!" replied Rafael, readying to make his move.

**Mysterious Female-4000 LP, Hand-2; Rafael-4000 LP, Hand-4**

"Time to rough things up! Activate, Raigeki Break!" said Rafael as the trap card revealed "With this I discard to destroy your Watthopper or that Veil, I'll go for the veil for now!" he added as the thunder was about to leave Rafael's trap.

"Trap card open, Royal Decree. No other trap card can be activated now." Replied the blue haired duelist, as her trap card shut down Rafael's, putting him in a dire spot.

"This can't be…" said Sara surprised "She locked Rafael almost completely in 4 turns."

The woman simply stared at Rafael, while the paladin looked somewhat desperate of being in such a situation "I have a feeling that this duel is one-sided now. Allow me to illuminate this duel, when things are right for it, Paladin of Hope."

"What are you talking about?" asked Rafael curious "I'm not the Paladin of Hope, just look at me!"

"I do." She replied immediately "You could be surprised of what you can do, just believe in yourself." She said, pointing at her own field "Otherwise my monsters will dominate you, your choice."

**To be continued…**

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><p><em><strong>LightLord92: Next time, on Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds!<strong>_

_**Mysterious Female Duelist: All options have been contemplated. Unless you act, your chances of winning are 0%.  
>Rafael: Cut that out! I won't give up easily.<br>Sara: Rafael, you must stay focus!  
>Yusei: Believe in your card s and they will answer back, don't start losing hope!<br>Akiza: We're with you all the way to the end; show her what you're capable of!  
>Mysterious Female Duelist: This is the true power of Synchro monsters; Paladins can easily use it, Accel Synchro!<br>Rafael/Yusei/Sara/Akiza: Accel what?**_

_**Sara: Next time, on Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds, Episode 4: The Power of Legends, Accel Synchro Summoning!**_

_**Yusei: This feeling of that summon…somehow it seems…familiar…  
>Mysterious Female Duelist: In time, Yusei, you will fully master it.<strong>_

_**Jaden: I'm missing all the fun! Anyways, review if-  
>Sara: you liked the chapter! Until next time!<br>Jaden: Am I out of job?  
>Rafael: I don't think so; she's just taking the chance now that she cans.<strong>_

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><p><em><strong>New Cards of the Day:<br>**_**Wattveil, Continuous Spell Card (image of a big transparent veil with electric current)  
><strong>If there are no monsters with 'Watt' in its name on your side of the field, destroy this card. Monsters with 'Watt' in its name cannot be destroyed in battle and you receive no Battle Damage of battles involving those monsters.

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><p><strong>Well, that's today's chapter now, thanks for another great chapter. And now passing on to some other news, my vacations just ended, which means I'll have troubles updating this story now, but I hope I can find time to do so. Anyways, thanks for another and see you guys next time! Oh, also tell me your impression on the idea of adding some music for you guys to enjoy a bit more this fanfic, thanks in advance and hope you liked it!<br>-LightLord92; out.**


	4. Episode 4: The power of Legends

**Hi readers, LightLord92 coming back with the newest chapter of Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds. But first, there may be some confusion of what the condition the main character is suffering right now, my fault because I thought I had explained it better, but while re-reading it I noticed I didn't.**

**Basically that pain he feels (maybe I didn't explain myself there, but that's my fault) is that whenever tension or stress increase, his heart starts weakening in a great deal. Paladins use their own energy to make their monsters become real when there's no spiritual energy in high concentration, but whenever they are in a zone like that (battle with the Underworld King) there's a stronger bond between the monster and the Paladin; Alan and the others in those chapters barely escaped, but beaten a bit, while Rafael lost 4 monsters in that fight, therefore doing stronger damage to his entire body, but mainly his heart this time.**

**Oh, by the way, remember the turbo duelist from before? You will see who she is really (Hint: she's a character from the World Championship videogame series). Now, onwards with today's chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, original plot ideas of the anime, or music from the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or Yu-Gi-Oh! GX's series or any other I try to use, they belong to Konami and Kazuki Takahashi or their respective owners; I do however own my OC's of the Paladins of Light, some cards I've been creating for the fanfic, some events of the original parts of this story. All credit goes to their respective owners.**

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><p><em><strong>LightLord92: Previously, on Yu Gi Oh! 5D's, Rafael and Sara's turbulent past has been revealed to Yusei and Akiza.<br>Yusei: Both of them have suffered a lot, it's no surprise it suddenly got emotional for them.  
>Akiza: At least we managed to help them even a bit.<br>Sara: Then as we were about to leave, a strange woman that claims to know of the Legendary Paladins appeared and challenged Rafael to a duel.  
>Rafael: And she's just about to lock my deck completely, I have to try hard to beat her.<br>Female Vizor: Engaging without focus won't lead you anywhere, Legendary Paladin. Unleash your true potential, I'll teach you how.**_

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><p><em><strong>LightLord92: We proceed with Episode 4: The Power of Legends, Accel Synchro Summoning!<strong>_

"Field control is on my side." said the female Vizor, staring at Rafael, noting his nervousness "If you are afraid, then you'll never be a true leader to the Paladins, Rafael."

Rafael simply got serious, calming down "Say, how do you know of us?" asked Rafael curious "We're not the most secret organization around here, but we do keep a low profile, just enough for our members to identify themselves and for the rest to just see us as normal people."

The female Vizor remained silent "That information is classified, the important thing at hand is" she then pointed at Rafael "to teach you the path to awaken the legendary powers dormant in you, the powers of the Legendary Paladin!"

Rafael got curious, but then turned to his hand "You've got the wrong guy, let's keep going with this duel! I summon **Lucky Sprite Dragon**!" shouted Rafael as a small mirage like Decoy Dragon appeared, roaring lowly and with no attack points "This little dragon is capable of passing your defenses. Furthermore, I roll a dice and depending on the result, it's the amount of attack it gains for each of your monster!" said Rafael, as the dragon summoned forth 6 flames with the numbers of 1 through 6 "Let's roll now!" the flames began moving on their own in a vortex, so fast it was hard to see, until a flame appeared, marking 2 "Well, you've got those hoppers covering you, but at least I'll deliver 400 direct damage! Attack **Lucky Sprite Dragon**!" the dragon immediately disappeared, appearing then by the woman's side and barely hitting her with its small tail "That's all I can do for now."

**Mysterious Female-1800 LP, Hand-3; Rafael-4000 LP, Hand-3**

"My turn, draw." Said the woman drawing her card "Paladin of Hope, you're not trusting in your Deck. Did my lockdown strategy startle you quickly?"

"Truth be told, I have no answer to that question." Replied Rafael serious, closing his eyes "It would be easy lying, but it would do no good."

"At least you're honest with yourself." said the woman "I summon Wattpheasant in attack mode." She added as a blue colored bird monster appeared in the field "Now Wattpheasant, attack that sprite dragon!" the bird began flying a bit high, aiming at Rafael's dragon, swooping down to take it out in a single swift attack "I end my turn now."

**Mysterious Female-1800 LP, Hand-2; Rafael-3400 LP, Hand-4**

"My turn, draw!" said Rafael, trying to focus. He noticed he was starting to get a hold of things, since the card he got was "I activate Card of Sanctity, allowing us to draw cards until we get 6 in our hands." Said that, Rafael and his opponent began getting their cards, as Rafael noticed that he was getting things he would eventually need "Great, I set a card and then I activate Stamping Destruction, dealing 500 damage points for any Spell or Trap I destroy, your Royal Decree this time around!" the woman's trap card then blew up, reducing her LP by 500 "I end my turn."

"I admit you're regaining your confidence, but you're still lacking that characteristic that will make you the Paladin of Hope." said the woman serious "Your family's legacy is resting in your back, after all."

"Look, I know all about that family heritage, but my family doesn't hail from the original and founder Paladin, the Legendary Paladin of Hope." replied Rafael "The sworn duty of my family, is to look for the Legendary Paladins once the Wicked Gods have returned to this world. Yet we are not members of those Paladin ranks."

"Rafael" said the woman "do you know which are the three Envoys of Destruction of this world?" she asked, while Rafael and Sara immediately thought of those duelists they faced before heading to face the Dark Signers "I'm not talking about the duelists, but the ones of this world."

Rafael gave it a thought, recalling some lessons his father and the Paladin professor he had "If memory serves me right they are death, hatred, and despair. What about them?"

"Those three Envoys of Destruction have three anti-thesis in this world." She added calmly "Those three are the reason of balance in this world. Every time one force gets too powerful in life, the world is at the edge of chaos. Life must create another force to counter it, keeping a balance and an order in the world; that's why the Legendary Paladins were born in the first place, they represent life, love, and hope."

"Those are the Sacred Virtues." Said Sara remembering her stories of childhood and the books she read.

"Maybe you didn't realize it Rafael, but ever since the Dragoons chose you, you took the mission of your ancestor, the Legendary Paladin of Hope. Even the chant you make reflects it." Said the woman, as Rafael recalled all those times he has been synchro summoning his Dragoons, as well as the original Dragoon he possessed, how each of them meant hope in his toughest duels up to now "Enough of the lesson for now, let's continue the duel."

**Mysterious Female-1800 LP, Hand-6; Rafael-3400 LP, Hand-4**

"My turn, draw." Said the woman getting her card I'll summon the tuner Wattfox to the field." Said the female duelist as a small yellow colored and electric-charged fox appeared.

"Tuner monster and there are quite a choice of levels in your field." Said Rafael worried.

"She's going to Synchro Summon now." said Yusei serious looking "She can bring a level 6, 7 or 8 Synchro monster to the field right now, but the real question, is which one?"

"What do you mean Yusei?" asked Akiza "There are many Synchro monsters of those level, she can bring almost anything sshe wants and has."

"That's mainly the trouble she will have at the moment." replied Yusei "I'm quite sure now that her deck is focused on the Watt monsters, which only have 2 Synchro Monsters, known to the public so far, a level 6 and a level 7."

"I'm tuning my level 2 Wattfox with my level 4 Wattpheasant and my level 1 Watthopper! Synchro Summon!" said the female turbo duelist as her little fox jumped, transforming into 2 energy rings that surrounded the pheasant and the hopper.

"That's a level 7 monster, so she's bringing…" said Yusei knowing which monster she was playing.

"Come forth, Watthydra!" said the female duelist as a red dragon-like monster with white hair and heads coming from its body appeared, roaring fiercely "It is time now! Watthydra, attack Rafael directly!"

"How come you can do that?" asked Rafael surprised, as the hydra passed his defenses and released a minor shockwave, reducing his LP.

"Most Watt monsters have a unique skill." replied the woman coldly "Attack directly, regardless of the monsters you control in the field and the quantity."

"That means Rafael must act quickly, or those little monsters will end up overwhelming him." Said Sara, understanding how much damage they could do "He must be extremely careful now."

"Fortunately for him, that woman just broke her lockdown." said Yusei as he usually does "With only one Watthopper in the field, Rafael will have a chance to answer back, and that synchro monster is not strong enough to survive an attack of Blizzard Dragon."

"So technically, Rafael has a chance to survive now." Said Akiza, watching the field "Unless somehow…"

"Now, Watthydra's special ability activates!" said the turbo duelist, as her deck began glowing "Whenever I deliver damage with my hydra, I can remove from play a card in my Deck, then add it to my hand in my 2nd standby phase." She said, picking a card then taking one of her hand "I'll set one more card, that's the end of my turn."

**Mysterious Female-1800 LP, Hand-5; Rafael-1900 LP, Hand-5**

"My turn, draw!" said Rafael getting his card, seeing it was his dragoon ace "I guess I'll save this for later, I'll set a card and now, I'll attack Watthopper with Blizzard Dragon!" ordered Rafael, as his blue dragon prepared to attack the little insect, until the attacked got blocked with another electric force field "What happened just now?" asked Rafael, turning to the woman, as another Watthopper appeared from the ground.

"I activated the Trap card Wattjustment, allowing me to Special Summon any Watt monster in my graveyard that is level 4 or lower, since I chose Watthopper, you're attack is immediately canceled out."

"Well, it will be just for this turn, since that trap will destroy your monster at the end of this turn." said Rafael, worrying "Your turn." said that the woman was about to start his turn until "A new question."

"What is it?" replied the woman calmly "I must warn you that, there's a limit to things I can tell you at the moment."

Rafael got a bit worried of hearing that "Umm, why do you say so?"

"I'll tell you why!" shouted a voice from some distance of them. Alexis and Jaden were hurrying to where the duel was taking place, as Jaden got surprised of the countdown of LP and how intense it was "Cool, I guess we made it in time after all." He said with his well-known grin.

"Alexis, Jaden? What are you guys doing here?" asked Sara curious "We thought you two were with everyone else by now."

"Well, we went quickly thanks to Jaden, so we decided to look for you guys again." said Alexis turning to Jaden "It was surprising that Jaden could track and locate you guys."

"Oh right, I forgot about it." said Jaden, snapping out of the duel and turning to Rafael "Buddy, she can't tell you certain things because she comes from the future!" said that the woman got shocked, but kept her clam enough for her surprise to go unnoticed.

"Jaden are you sure?" asked Rafael, scratching the back of his head a bit "I mean, that could explain the runner, but I have my doubts pal."

Jaden then gave it a thought, almost looking like a private detective while thinking "Yeah, I'm absolutely sure!" he said, but then "Well, I guess." Everyone got a bit surprised of Jaden's last words, making his statement pretty vague "But hey, you're doing fine in the duel!"

"That pretty much leaves it as we started." Added Rafael smiling a bit then turning to the woman "Anyways, what I want to know is how you know all that of the Paladin organization? Our legends, about our founder, even about the chants."

"In due time, that question will clarify itself." Said the woman "Look, I can tell you that I have researched the topic for a long time, I know a lot of those things as well as" she said, turning to Jaden and Alexis "the Nightshroud incident and" then she turned to Yusei "about the Signers and what will become of them."

"That's pretty much a vague answer." Replied Sara confused, trying to think of what she was saying "Mmmm, anyways, she looks to teach us the real power of the Legendary Paladins…"

"Sometimes when you look to teach a lesson, you do so for the learner to realize it." Said Akiza, trying to figure out what the woman was attempting to do "But what could she possibly mean?"

"That's something for Rafael to figure out." Added Yusei, as the woman got her card, beginning her turn.

**Mysterious Female-1800 LP, Hand-5; Rafael-1900 LP, Hand-4**

"I'll go now, one turn to reclaim my card." She said looking at her hand "Right now, I'll attack you with Watthydra once again!" the hydra once again released a powerful shockwave against Rafael, putting him in a dire situation "This time, I won't activate my hydra's effect, I'll end my turn with a set, that's all."

Jaden could barely contain his excitement; he was very much enjoying the duel "That's too cool! This duel is going to a whole new level!"

"Jaden, do you realize Rafael is losing?" asked Alexis a bit embarrassed "Anyways, Sara how did all this started? I doubt Rafael is the kind of person to easily get a fight like this."

"Well, we already filled-in Yusei and Akiza of that day." Said Sara, as Alexis and Jaden also knew of their turbulent past "Then, while heading back, she appeared out of nowhere, challenging him to a duel in order for him to learn of the Legendary Paladins, so it ended up like this."

"I see, that explains it." said Alexis turning to the duel "Well, Rafael will surely beat her, no problems for him."

"It is about time that you knew a bit more of the Legendary Paladins and their relation with the Signers as well, but first, I would like to know what you already know." said the woman, her turn about to end.

Rafael was doubtful to answer, but then again he knew this woman already had knowledge of them "The Legendary Paladin rank was given to individuals whose strength was far greater than that of the average humans. So far, registers mark three as the responsible of the defeat of the Wicked Gods in the past; one was she who protected humanity with all her heart, another one he who fought with courage for life, lastly he who summoned darkness in the first place to the world, losing hope and regaining it, sealing the Wicked Gods for good." Replied Rafael calmly, while staring at the response of the woman "Other Legendary Paladins woke up with the passing of the years, but those three are the ones known the most."

"That's correct, the three of them managed to save humanity from destruction in those ages." replied the woman quickly "Those that appeared in the dark times were the banner of the Sacred Virtues, which were forgotten by human kind."

"Well, that's pretty much what we know." added Rafael serious, while Sara nodded "Not much is known of the Legendary Paladins, but we're sure of that. Oh, and the fact they managed to fuse their souls with those of their own servants, but that's something all Paladins of that age did."

"Not quite." replied the woman, startling both Rafael and Sara "When the Underworld King was defeated, the Signers entered the fray because a member of the Paladins asked for their support. You see, when the Paladins fused with their servants, their energy to keep the fusion was quickly drained. Three of them were on the brink of dying, until the Signers that wielded Stardust and Black Rose Dragons found individuals with special skills that gave energy to the Paladins." Added the woman calmly "Aside, they saw the potential on three of their members, granting them the power to reach new heights; the Envoys of Destruction then appeared, giving a tough time against the Signers and the Paladins now."

"We know that too." Said Sara, recalling what Susan told her "The Envoys were finally beaten with the power of the Paladins in the end."

"Being specific, against the three Legendary Paladins; you see, three of the individuals brought by the Signers taught a new technique to the Paladins, one to acquire the ultimate power, later improved and mastered by the two Signers, too."

"Is this the power you mean to teach us?" asked Rafael doubtful, while the woman smirked.

"It is still early, but soon enough this technique will make itself famous. Its name has changed with the passing of years, however it was originally known as 'Clear Mind'." added the woman.

**Mysterious Female-1800 LP, Hand-4; Rafael-1400 LP, Hand-5**

"My turn, draw!" said Rafael, looking at his hand and smiling "Well, I'll go for this now! I'll Special Summon Vice Dragon to the field, but halving its powers." Said Rafael as the purple skinned evil dragon appeared in the field "Then I summon **Dragoon Apprentice **to the field!" added Rafael, as his small, young and eager knight appeared in the field, calling forth a dragon "Now, with its effect I can bring my **Lucky Sprite Dragon**!" added Rafael as the little colored dragon appeared again "Time for a tune up! I tune my level 2 apprentice, with my level 1 sprite dragon, and my level 5 Vice Dragon!" the apprentice jumped to the sky, becoming 2 energy rings surrounding the other dragons "To protect justice and hope! Knight and paladin that fights bravely for life, lend me your strength! Blazing force and heart of a hero! Synchro Summon! Fly into the sky, **Dragon Lord-Dragoon Knight Lord**!" the armored dragon warrior appeared, flipping its wings while harnessing flames in its fists "Time to finish this with its effect! I will remove my sprite dragon to reduce and negate your Hydra's effects!" the dragoon then fired a powerful light flame sphere that hit the Hydra and left it useless.

"That's it! Rafael has this game in his pocket now!" said Jaden amazed "That's a great counter!"

"Then, to strike down your hopper, I will use my Forbidden Chalice, which negates its effects and gives your monster a power boost! Now Dragoon Knight Lord, attack Watthydra! Blazing Nova!" shouted Rafael as his dragoon paladin launched a powerful fire sphere against the hydra, consuming it "By the way, my Dragoon receives a 300 boost for each Dragon or Warrior monster. That means, its attack is 3100 now."

"I know, that's why my Shrink will spare me this turn, making the attack worth 1550 this turn." she said as the card activated, forming a purple aura around Rafael's dragoon, halving his attack power enough for Misaki to survive "Well, that's all I need for now."

"Well, anyways." said Rafael, realizing it could be his end next turn "I'll set a card, ending my turn."

**Mysterious Female-1800 LP, Hand-5; Rafael-1400 LP, Hand-2**

"It's my turn now, draw." She said, as the card she banished from Watthydra's effect "Now, I get the card I removed with Hydra." She then stared at it, turning to the field "Time for you to witness the true power of the Paladins, the power of the Clear Mind." She said picking the card she removed "I activate Monster Reborn, bringing back my Watthydra from the field." She said as the watt multiple dragon-head beast appeared, roaring "Then, I summon Wattfox to the field!" she added, as another fox appeared in the field "I tune up my level 2 Wattfox with my level 1 Watthopper to Synchro Summon" she shouted, as the fox became 2 energy rings surrounding the hopper, as a light ray went through "**Wattphoenix**!" she added, as a bird creature flew by; yellow golden and red colored wings, with flames and electric currents surrounding it "Now, heed this words carefully, for they are the key to the next step of evolution." She added, as the phoenix flew high above the hydra "You need to focus on the task or feelings of the moment, as long as malice does not fuel them; the next step, varies from people to people, according to their will or bonds, you must infer it on your own."

"That's all? Truth be told that key requirement is just enough but-" said Rafael then interrupted by the woman.

"During Ground Duels, were speed plays no role, the requirement is somewhat different." Added the woman "Right now, my goal is for you to witness and understand the power of the Clear Mind, that alone is a pure goal, but not enough. You must fuel it with a strong spirit and a memory that gives you the courage to go onwards. Concentration, a strong will, and a memory." She said as the phoenix became three energy rings surrounding the hydra "I tune up my level 3 phoenix with my level 7 hydra!" upon shouting that, a golden ray appeared through the rings, as a blinding light began shining from her field.

"What's this…power?" asked Rafael, amazed by it, as a strong wind current came from the synchro summon.

"Accel Synchro!" shouted the woman.

"Accel what?" shouted Yusei, Akiza and Sara in surprise, as it was a new level of the Synchro Summon.

"Appear now, **Wattdragon**!" added the woman, as a big shadow began emerging from the light, as it faded away. A bulky tall dragon, yellow and red colored appeared, it appeared to be a humanoid dragon, standing on its two slender feet claws, which supported the bulky body and two arms. Folding its wings, the dragon roared fiercely, as electricity and flames surrounded it; packed with 200 attack points "Wattdragon's effect activates, I can destroy one card in the field by discarding a Watt monster from my hand." She said, discarding her Wattlemur "Go! Fire-thunder claw!" she added, as the dragon aimed for Rafael's face down, a Mirror Force.

"So that's the power of legends…the power that the original Paladins used…" said Rafael, smiling "Go ahead, finish this duel. I think I got the strings of it."

The woman stayed there calmly "Many powers come with the Accel Synchro, Rafael." She then turned to Yusei, Akiza and Sara "One day, perhaps you will all experience them first hand, it depends on you guys."

"Accel Synchro?" asked Yusei serious "For some reason it sounds…quite familiar."

"**Wattdragon**, attack Rafael directly! Lightning Pulse!" ordered the woman, as the dragon charged a sphere in its mouth, sending pulses of electricity, striking Rafael directly, ending the duel.

"Rafael, are you okay?" asked Sara, running to Rafael's side, joined by Alexis, Jaden, Yusei and Akiza. Rafael began standing, with a smile on his face, then he began laughing "Rafael, are you sure you're okay?" she asked, a bit worried.

"I'm fine Sara, thanks." replied Rafael calming down "Wow that was amazing indeed."

The woman then smirked a bit "Now that you've seen it, I guess there's something for me to take care of, first." She added, taking out of her pocket a pocket scanner "Yusei, Akiza, I'm sorry to do this, but it is not time for you two to know of this."

"Wait, why is that so?" asked Jaden a bit surprised.

"Jaden, you know why, as I do." Added the woman "But then again, I guess I can say it. Yusei, Akiza, on its due time, you two will see the power of the Accel Synchro, but right now this is not the time." She then turned to Rafael and Sara "I need to say something more, but we'll wait for it right now." She then aimed the scanner at Yusei and Akiza, as a ray passed through their eyes.

"Hey, what are you doing?" asked Sara nervous, while Rafael also moved to check "She's doing something to them!"

"I'm just erasing their memories of this duel." Replied the woman, as Sara calmed down "I can't run risks with them knowing of that technique just now, as I said, they will learn of it later." The scanner then stopped, as Yusei and Akiza winked a few times, before moving again "That should do. Listen carefully, everyone." She headed to her runner, as everyone turned to her, Yusei and Akiza a bit surprised but knowing who everyone was except for the woman "Three paladins will rise to the threat of darkness, but only when darkness is about to conquer the world, as in those times. Their names are…" she said turning back to the group "Ilyan, Gandor, and the founder."

"Wait…Ilyan? Does that mean…" said Sara surprised. The woman nodded.

"The names of their heirs at this time are, Rafael, Sara, and Roland." She said, getting on her runner "I've done my part; the rest is up to you guys. Good luck." She then left, heading away of the park, as if nothing had happened.

"So…we are the…Legendary Paladins…" said Rafael, still swallowing the idea "It seems we must be on our guards now, for the right time." Sara simply put her hand on Rafael's shoulder, smiling at him.

"Whenever it comes, we will be here to help you guys!" said Jaden eager, as Sara and Rafael turned back to them.

"We've been sticking around long enough; it's our time to lend a hand now." Added Alexis.

"That's right." Said Yusei calmly "I'm still not sure what happened here after hearing your stories, but if you guys are the Legendary Paladins, we will do anything we can to aid you."

"That's right, we are friends after all." added Akiza smiling. Rafael and Sara sure knew they had a lot of backup, no matter what happened then.

* * *

><p>A few days later, Rafael was checking paper works again in the office, Mina still helping him, as he had many to check yet "Thanks Mina, I'm sorry I dragged you into this again." He said chuckling a bit.<p>

"Don't worry Director." Replied Mina smiling eagerly, knowing he was already fine. She had little work this time around, while Rafael kept the most of them and was working faster this time "Wow, you've improved in the past few days. You're going to make a fine Director, I'm sure of it." Rafael blushed a bit, while Mina giggled from his reaction.

"Mina, Rafael!" shouted a voice from outside, as both turned to the doors, seeing Trudge barging in and looking worried "We've got a problem in the ports, come with me, quickly!" the two of them simply stood up from their seats, heading outside quickly.

Arriving at the ports, they saw a group of citizens accompanied by two high position men. Officers of Sector Security, along with Sara and Yusei were behind them, at the construction site. Among the things the citizens stationed there were shouting were things as "No union with Satellite!" as well as "Stop the building of the bridge!" and "No passage for those of Satellite!" Rafael, Mina and Trudge managed to get through the people, to the side were the workers and officers were.

"Sara, Yusei, what's going on?" asked Rafael "When this this turmoil appear?"

Sara shook her head "It seems these aristocrats don't want the union between Satellite and New Domino City." She said saddened "We were going to start the building process here when they appeared."

"They appeared lead by those two over there." Said Yusei, pointing at the two men Rafael saw earlier "They are against this and brought an order to stop the building of the bridge."

"That's right, Director Rafael." Said a voice from the turmoil, as one of the men approached them "We don't want this bridge here, it's too risky to allow more of" he said, turning to Yusei "those scum in here."

"Sorry, but I disagree with what you think." replied Rafael confident "Director Goodwin wanted the union to take place, the city is ready. We are willing to make that dream come true."

"Well, we don't." he said, taking an order from his coat's pocket, as Rafael managed to get a glimpse of the Paladin Emblem in his clothes, that of a group that was against him "This order here, signed by each citizen present, asks of you to stop this building immediately."

Rafael took it and read it, seeing it was real. Rafael handed it back to him "Even so, I'm afraid to tell you the majority of the city's council has signed and approved this. The building will go on as planned." The man simply got grumpy, turning his back, as the turmoil began dispersing "Yusei, I want you to stick with Sara and some officers for a while."

"Is anything amiss?" asked Yusei curious.

"Don't tell me he's…" asked Sara, as Rafael nodded.

"Yes, Sara. He's the leader of the Paladin group that is revolting; they will try something for sure against Yusei or me." Added Rafael worried "As if the Wicked Gods were not enough of a problem, we'll have to be together from now on."

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><p><em><strong>LightLord92: Next time, on Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds!<strong>_

_**Heitmann: Impossible! Unconceivable! That won't happen while I'm in my post!  
>Rafael: Pardon me, is there a problem?<br>Heitmann: So even the new so called Director is here now, great.  
>Rafael: What's that supposed to mean? Huh? Akiza? What's going on?<br>Akiza: Rafael, I mean Director-  
>Rafael: Come on Akiza, you can still call me by my first name. Oh, so your parents, Yusei and Sara also came to Duel Academy? Great!<br>Yusei: We're trying to help Akiza get re-admitted in the academy, but the vice principal here says-  
>Heitmann: Our policy says that no student shall be admitted outside of the inscription dates.<br>Rafael: Then how about an Admittance Duel? I they are run here in the Academy Vice Principal.**_

_**Akiza: Sounds great to me! Next time on Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds, Episode 5: Academy Admittance, Old Schooling Style! I wanted to say something like that for some time now.**_

_**Sara: Oh, also Rafael, Yusei wanted to talk with you about a new project that you talked with him.  
>Rafael: Wait, so that means the building of the bridge is almost over?<br>Yusei: Kind of, some people are still rising, so we decided to stop for a while.**_

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><p><em><strong>New Cards of the Day:<strong>_

**Wattphoenix, Level 3, Synchro Tuner Effect Winged Beast type, Light Attribute, Atk 300, Def 1200  
><strong>If this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon it by sending one monster with 'Watt' on its name from your Hand. You can Synchro Summon using this card during your opponent's Main Phase.

**Wattdragon, Level 10, Synchro Effect Dragon type, Light Attribute, Atk 2500, Def 2500  
><strong>Once per turn, you can send one card with 'Watt' on its name to the Graveyard, destroy one card your opponent controls. When your opponent activates a Spell/Trap card, you can remove this card from play and negate its activation. During your Standby Phase, you can Special Summon this card that was removed from play by this effect.

**Lucky Sprite Dragon, Level 1, Effect Dragon type, Fire Attribute, Atk 0, Def 0**  
>Once during each of your turns, you can roll a dice. This card gains Atk equal to the result x 100 for each monster your opponent controls.<p>

**Dragoon Apprentice; Effect Tuner Monster; Dragon, Level 2; Atk 900, Def 900; Earth Attribute**

When this card is successfully summoned, you can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Dragon or Warrior-type monster from your hand or graveyard.

**Dragon Lord-Dragoon Knight Lord, Effect synchro Monster; Dragon Type monster, Level 8; Atk 2500, Def 2500; Light Attribute**

1 Dragoon Tuner monster+1 or more non-Tuner monsters.  
>This card is treated as a Warrior-type monster too. For each Dragon and Warrior type monster in your graveyard, this card gains 300 Atk points. Once per turn, you can select a monster your opponent controls and remove a Dragon or Warrior Type monster from your graveyard. Until the End Phase of this your opponent's turn, that monster's effect is cancelled and its Atk is reduced to 0. This card cannot be destroyed by your opponent's effects.<p> 


	5. Episode 5: Academy Admittance

**Hello guys! LightLord92 standing by in duty after a LONG break. Well, I had some personal affairs, things to get straight with me, college duties, a project with my dad, many things came in line and well, time for writing was shortening a lot. Anyways, I'm back and I'll pick up from where I left (sorry DragonKnight15 and CuteLittlePikachu, I guess I made you two wait long enough) and I also want to ask you readers another thing, like a one-shot fanfic starring Ragna the Bloodedge and Nu-13 from Blazblue (in spanish), you can give it a try if you want, but I warn you that if you want to play Contiinum Shift and read the story there, you may not want to read it at the moment, since there are many spoilers.**

**Projects are coming again in college, so time will short again. But a friend of mine and I have decided to start a fanfic of Pokémon, mixing a few things of the Adventures manga and the videogames. So I'm not sure if anyone reading this fanfic of Yugioh would be interested to read this new adventure following (not my choice, but my friend thought of adding Rafael and Sara with 2 of his OCs) in adventures with Red, Blue, Green, Yellow and company. You can leave your answer in a review if you want; thanks in advance.**

**Well, here goes the new chapter of this volume of Paladins of Light, let's get going and hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, original plot ideas of the anime, or music from the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or Yu-Gi-Oh! GX's series or any other I try to use, they belong to Konami and Kazuki Takahashi or their respective owners; I do however own my OC's of the Paladins of Light, some cards I've been creating for the fanfic, some events of the original parts of THIS story. All credit goes to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>LightLord92: Previously, on Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds, Rafael's duel against the mysterious Turbo Duelist goes on.<br>Misaki: Pardon me for the late introduction, my name is Misaki. Locking him down and bringing my Watt monsters to the field, I pushed Rafael to think on his moves, but also on the tales of the Legendary Paladins.  
>Rafael: Finally, realizing that she tried to tell me to focus, cherish good memories and never backing down, the path for the Legendary Paladin power was told to us.<br>Sara: We were also told that the power would be awaken when the time comes, the Accel Synchro, right Yusei?  
>Yusei: I don't think I'm following you guys this time. What's that?<br>Akiza: There's a gap in my memories, but we promised to help you guys out. That's for sure.  
>Rafael: Then turmoils began, with the rebelling Paladin branch coming to the city. Things will heat up for sure, but-<br>Jaden: If we stick together, there's nothing that can stop us!**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>LightLord92: Episode 5-Academy Admittance, Old Schooling Style!<strong>_

New Domino City's Sector Security Bureau HQ, a month since the Signers victory, and just one week past the turmoil in the bridge. Some of the construction has still be undergone slowly, while another session with New Domino's City council and the directive board of Sector Security, regarding the future of that project. The doors to the meeting room opened, most of the directive board leaving with a happy grin, while others didn't.

Inside, Rafael stayed still, staring at Goodwin's position which he just used moments ago, smiling a bit "Goodwin, it seems you took a heads-up in this matter. If that's so, I guess Yusei and I owe you one." He said, closing his eyes; right now he wasn't wearing his casual attires, but more formal clothes as he had a gray shirt underneath a white formal suit with matching pants. Mina stood nearby, looking from a distance, still amazed by how things fared, proud of her friend's success.

* * *

><p><em>A few moments ago, the directive board was still in disagreement of what to do with the recent problem of the porject. There was a 50% supporting the building, while the other refused. Things getting longer and longer, Rafael stood up from the Director's chair, calling for everyone's attention "It is our work-no, our obligation with the citizenry-to guide our sights to a new brighter future."<em>

"_Director Rafael, I agree with that, but" said one of the supporters of stopping the construction "joining both the Satellite with the City is something right now we can't possibly do. Many people have shown discomfort about it."_

"_He's right." Said the man that was leading the turmoil the other day, standing up all high and mighty "It is for the best, many people still don't believe you're not fit for the post, Lazar should be in charge right now, but we're giving you the chance, a shot at the job."_

_Rafael simply closed his eyes, standing up to "You may be right, Goodwin possibly didn't understand that when choosing me as the successor, but" he said, opening his eyes as they burnt with determination and a strong will behind them "Goodwin chose me for a reason, I won't disappoint him or else I'll be a complete failure. Slowly, if needed, I'll demonstrate my worth as Director of Sector Security." He said, turning to those who supported him, then to those who didn't "I don't blame you for not believing in this project, given that a faction of the citizens still feel uncomfortable, but I will do my best in order to make the city a better place, starting by joining the Satellite and the city, as they were once in the past." He added. Silence rounded the room, until one of the executives against it began applauding in amazement; quickly more directives began applauding, showing a great amount of admiration towards the young Director, who still wished to do what he thought was the best._

* * *

><p>"Indeed." Said Mina smiling happily "It's as if he knew this would happen, so he left you and Yusei a way to carry on his dream."<p>

"I suppose you could say so." replied Rafael turning to Mina "Well, we must do our best with these projects, they are for the best."

"Y-yeah, of course Director." replied Mina a bit nervous, while Rafael just chuckled a bit.

"Mina, please don't call me Director." Said Rafael smiling "I started working here in Sector Security with you, just call me Rafael okay?"

"Even if you insist, Dir-" said Mina, restraining herself while giggling a bit "Rafael, I can't easily do that, less when working. You have a higher rank than me, so…" Rafael just laughed a bit with Mina, unknowingly taking her hands.

"Director, Mrs. Mina?" asked a voice from outside the room. A tall man, of about 40 years old, came into the room. He was wearing the uniform of Sector Security, apparently a member of the Public Investigation Force "If I may interrupt this little…reunion." He said turning his sight at the grip of both, embarrassing them as they barely realized it, breaking the grip quite embarrassed both of them.

"What do you need, officer…" said Rafael, starting to scratch his head. He wasn't supposed to know the name of all the workers of Sector Security, but at least it was expected of him to recognize them. The officer simply smiled, knowing his new boss was having troubles.

"Yamato, Director Rafael." He said, lifting his finger then "It would be Agent to be more accurate, but that was close too."

"Sorry, I still try to get the hang of things around here." Replied Rafael apologizing to Yamato "Wait, that's your last name right?"

"Sir, that would be more than enough to call me, it's fine." Said the agent assuring "Oh right, what I came here for. The Principal of New Domino's City Duel Academy has invited you to go to give a speech to the young generations, as part of a program regarding Jobs."

"Me? But why?" asked Rafael a bit surprised. As the new Director, many people still doubted his skills for the job "I guess you or Mina here would do a far better job than me, trust me, I'm not that good talking to the masses."

"Well, you should give it a try then." Said Mina, making Rafael think he was holding his ground on his own "I mean, as Director you would eventually need to stand up to crowds and talk to them serious, but without forgetting to treat them kindly."

"I guess you're right." replied Rafael, scratching his back head "Well, if you two think it is fine."

"Of course!" reassured Mina eagerly, smiling to him.

"As for me, I think you should go. It would provide a chance for you to start gaining the favor of the citizens around here." said the agent, moving outside of the room with Mina and Rafael "Furthermore that would give me a chance to visit and check on my daughter there."

"Very well, then let's get going." Added Rafael, as the three decided to leave the room.

Taking one of Sector Security vans, Mina drove the car towards the Academy, as Rafael sat next to her and the officer behind them "I suppose you are eager to see the Academy, right Director Rafael?" asked Mina, as Rafael snapped out of daydreaming.

"Huh? R-r-right." Replied Rafael laughing a bit "Well, I do have curiosity of how it will look." He added while looking to the city "But I'm a tad nervous still, never mind that."

"Who would have thought that, after facing fiends, monsters, risk your life in countless duels" said Mina, teasing Rafael a bit "you would be afraid of speaking to students and people of the city."

"I think you'll make a good job, just hang in there." added Mina smiling.

* * *

><p>Moments later, they arrived at the Duel Academy in New Domino City; as students started going inside of it. Male students were wearing a white shirt underneath a blue gallant coat with black pants, both being formal for the school and a red tie; female students wore a white shirt too, underneath a red coat which length depended mostly on their social class and black skirt, also in a formal compound, while wearing yellow bow ties. The academy itself was a pretty big campus, almost like the world's most prestigious universities; it was divided in about 9 different facilities.<p>

As Rafael, Mina and Agent Yamato came down of the car, heading to the entrance "Wow, so this is the Academy of New Domino City…" said Rafael, perplexed of how much space it occupied "The sole space it takes amazes me, it's as big as the original Duel Academy."

"The best part of this one is that it is open for any kind of student." said Mina eagerly "Elementary, Middle, High School and even College students can apply here to study. They don't only focus on Duel Monsters, but also on traditional school subjects and curriculums."

Rafael started thinking for a while "That sounds quite interesting, I wish I could still apply to learn some computer systems and programming."

"Well, you could still apply if you want, Director, you're not that old." said a male's voice, coming from the main entrance. A gray haired man around his middle 40 years with a moustache, wearing a formal suit red dark colored with pairing pants.

"It's a great honor to meet you, Director Rafael. I'm the Principal of New Domino's Duel Academy." said the man, extending his arm to receive the Director of Sector Security.

"It's my pleasure to be here Principal, and thanks for the offer, I'll think about it." Replied Rafael, shaking hands "So, according to what I heard you wanted me to give a conference about what Sector Security's job is right? Something about a Career's day fashion."

The Principal nodded while laughing a bit "You're as acknowledgeable as I've heard." He said greeting the young Director "Truth be told there is something more we would like you to do, but that can wait for now, why don't we go around the facilities for the time being? The conferences will be until the afternoon, later today."

As Mina and Rafael followed the Principal, Agent Yamato apologized with them "Sorry, but I will look for my daughter, she needed me to hand her something she forgot in home." He said, showing them a backpack he had in the car. Mina and Rafael nodded, as they followed the Principal and Yamato began looking for his daughter.

Rafael was completely speechless as they set foot inside the main building, the central part of New Domino's Academy "This is one of the main buildings in the academy, you could relate it a heart in the human body. In here, you can ask for assessment, apply for exams that range from extra-academic, finals, even to get your driver's license for a Duel Runner."

"So I assume most of the electronic processes come from here, right?" asked Rafael, to which the Principal "The database here must be something really outstanding, as Sector Security's is."

"That's correct." Replied the Principal, as he took his phone to attend a call "Again?" he asked a bit disappointed "Very well, I guess I should try solving this. Thanks for sharing this inconvenient." He said, ending the call and turning to Mina and Rafael "I'm afraid I'll have to leave you two on your own for now, there's a matter I must attend to. If you wish you could go directly to the Main Educative building, the conferences will be held there."

"Thanks and don't worry about it, Mr. Principal." replied Mina, bowing as the Principal left "Well, let's go Director Rafael."

"Yeah, it would be nice to practice what I will be saying and answering at the conference." replied Rafael.

* * *

><p>Both of them left the building immediately and tried to look for the building the Principal had told them about, but with no luck and ending lost in the huge campus. Even if Mina and Rafael checked the maps scattered at meeting points in the campus, they found it terribly hard to find their way to the building they looked for, until a familiar voice found them near the center area of the academy campus.<p>

"I knew it was you guys!" said a little friend's voice, as they turned around "Rafael, Mina, it's nice to see you guys again!" said Leo, wearing the boy's uniform of the academy; by his side stood Luna wearing the girl's uniform, as well as Dexter and a young blond haired brunette girl.

"Hey, Leo, Luna, how you've been kids?" asked Rafael, as Leo immediately greeted the Director, recognizing he wasn't wearing his usual clothes.

"Cool, so you really decided to stick around as Director of Sector Security? That's really cool!" shouted Leo eagerly as always. Luna simply sighed, a bit ashamed of her twin brother.

"Leo, calm down a bit." She said trying to make her brother stay calm "It's good to see you Mr. Rafael and Mrs. Mina." She then turned to her friends "By the way, these here are Dexter" she said presenting the brown haired kid wearing glasses "and she's Patty, a British student here in Duel Academy." She said, moving on to the girl with them.

"Nice to meet you kids." Replied Rafael, as Mina did too "So, you two are students here, can I ask you for a favor, please?" he asked a bit ashamed, about to explain until two more voices joined them.

"Rafael? Mina? The world is suddenly shrinking, tee hee." Said a female voice behind the kids, as Yusei and Sara appeared. Sara wasn't wearing her usual clothes; she was wearing a white bluish shirt below a red denim jacket, paired with a blue skirt, white stockings and brown boots; Yusei used his casual clothes as always.

"Yusei, Sara, it really is a surprise." said Rafael, greeting their friends.

"It's been sometime, I'm pretty sure you've been busy taking care of things in Sector Security." said Yusei smiling "Jack is eager to duel you again, but this time for real."

"Heh, sounds pretty much like the Jack we know." Replied Rafael laughing a bit "Anyways, Yusei I've got some good news." He said, as Sara, the twins, their friends and Yusei turned to him and Mina "The meeting was a success, the construction of the bridge can finally continue without any other inconvenient."

"That's good news!" replied Sara eagerly turning to Yusei "Isn't it right, Yusei?" Yusei simply nodded.

"That's right, with that we can work without much tension." Replied Yusei smiling at Sara, then turning to Rafael and Mina "Well, I guess we should go to hear your speech, right Director Rafael?" he said, as Rafael was dumb founded.

"Wait, you guys knew before hand?" asked Rafael, in a startled anime expression, while Sara, Yusei, Leo, Luna, Dexter, and Paty nodded, making Rafael fall to the ground "That's just great, the Principal sure made a great move, I grant him that."

Suddenly, they started noticing a lot of people heading quickly towards a building, which seemed to be the one they were looking for all along "Hey guys, we should check out what's going on!" shouted a male student running there.

"Yeah, I heard the Black Rose Witch is here." said a female student, as Yusei and company got surprised to hear that.

"You heard that Yusei?" asked Rafael, as Yusei nodded.

"We should go there, just in case." Replied Yusei, as the group headed quickly there.

* * *

><p>As soon as the group arrived there, they effectively saw Akiza, along with her parents, talking with a strange man wearing a red suit with a white shirt and green tie underneath it, with matching black pants "No,no, NO!" he shouted "We can't simply play with rules like that, what's more, we don't know if her powers are really under control now!"<p>

"But Heitmann, we know who she is and she has done great things for the city." Said the Principal, talking with the man in red suit "She saved the city along with the Signers, we are completely sure about it."

"Even so, we can't simply play with the rules like that." Added Heitmann "I, Vice Principal Rudolph Heitmann, won't allow her to apply when the year has started already!"

"And why is that, if I may know?" asked a voice behind Rudolph, as Rafael and his friends got through the crowd.

"Director Rafael, it's an honor to have you here." Replied Rudolph, startled but recovering his posture "This is nothing you should worry about, just troubles of us."

Rafael simply smiled, getting an idea of how to put him on his place quickly. He turned to Akiza who was simply worried and looking down with her parents "Hi Akiza. Senator Hideo, Mrs. Setsuko." said Rafael, bowing respectfully to them.

"Director Rafael, it's a pleasure to see you after some time." Replied Senator Hideo, as Akiza smiled at the sight of her friends.

"Guys, it's been some time!" she said eagerly, heading to the group quickly to chat a bit.

"Then, let's try it again, shall we?" asked Rafael, as Rudolph seemed surprised Akiza knew the new Director of Sector Security.

"This is the matter I told you about, Director." replied the Principal "We are arguing the matter of Mrs. Izinski applying to return to the academy, but the Vice Principal here keeps rejecting it."

"If you need a vouch that she has been able to control her powers" said Rafael, stepping ahead "I will vouch for her." He said strongly determined, as Akiza and everyone else's stares turned to him "I can't really go too deep in details, but her powers; I've personally seen them under her control. I know she can study here without putting anyone in danger."

"I still reject the option without solid proof." said Rudolph, crossing his hands.

Rafael gave it a thought, trying to figure out how to solve this, until it hit him "Well, it is called Duel Academy for a reason, right?" he said to himself, turning to Akiza "Akiza, I suppose you don't want a duel, but maybe it can be the only way to make him understand it."

Akiza turned to her parents, like hoping they could say something to her about it "Mom, dad, do you agree?"

"We never hoped things would be this hard." Said Hideo a bit worried "Principal, if our daughter faces the Vice Principal and defeats him, will she be able to re-enter the Academy?"

The principal turned to Rudolph, who simply said "Very well, if she can defeat one of our best students, she will be accepted."

"Then go for it, honey." said Mrs. Setsuko "We know you can do it."

Akiza then turned to the Vice Principal "Very well, then I accept this duel!" she said, confidently.

* * *

><p>The crowd of students, along with Akiza's parents gathered around the duel field. Akiza was gearing up her duel disk and deck, thinking that perhaps it was a perfect time to test her deck without using Black Rose Dragon at all. From the upper level of the duel field's building, students gathered to watch the duel, as one of the idols in the Academy was about to face Akiza.<p>

"So, I have to face a peasant like you?" asked a female voice, coming from the other side of the duel field. Everyone turned around, as most male students recognized the voice "How unpleasant."

"So you're going to be my opponent…" said Akiza, just looking at the blonde girl with the female Academy uniform "My name is Akiza Izinski, glad to meet you."

"So you are from the Izinski family right?" replied the woman, grinning "This will be a good chance for me, Ran Kobayakawa, to get on the higher posts of the Academy. You will never defeat me."

"Let the duel start!" shouted Rudolph announcing the start of the duel. Akiza simply got surprised of Ran talking like that, even if they just knew each other, but still it seemed Akiza's opponent thought high of herself.

**Ran-4000 LP, Hand 6; Akiza-4000 LP, Hand 5**

"This will be simple for me; I'll start by setting a monster and a card. End of my turn." said Ran, smiling "You should give up now that you still can, it'll spare you the humiliation, daddy's daughter."

Akiza simply started getting angry of how Ran was treating her, much to her dismay and worrying her friends of her powers.

**Ran-4000 LP, Hand 4; AKiza-4000 LP, Hand 6**

"My turn now!" said Akiza, starting her turn but then getting interrupted by Ran.

"Come on Aki, just give up, you're not up to our level here." said Ran, moving her hair elegantly, but more in a fashion of underestimating Akiza and an air of all-high-and-mighty "You should maybe apply when the freshmen come."

"That won't happen, I can win this duel." replied Akiza, seeing her moves and something else, Ran's move making a Synchro Summon next turn "_What…was that? Did I just…saw her move?" _she thought to herself, still thinking what that was.

"Come on Akiza! Make your move!" shouted Ran impatiently.

"Very well, I'll set a card and a monster. End of my turn." Said Akiza still thinking of that vision.

**Ran-4000 LP, Hand 5; AKiza-4000 LP, Hand 4**

"Now's the time for you to go down." Said Ran with a silly grin on her face "My turn and I'll summon my Naturia Rosewhip to the battlefield!" shouted Ran, as the light green plant monster appeared "Now I'll flip my Inmato for a level 6 tune up!" added Ran, as the Rosewhip turned into three energy rings that surrounded Inmato "Time to send you packing Akia, meet my powerful Queen of Thorns!" added Ran, as her monster appeared in the field, a humanoid woman with plants as clothes "Now queen, finish up her monster!" said Ran, as the queen sent a powerful whip strike against Akiza's face down, which was Hedge Guard was destroyed by the queen of Ran "That was just enough for you, how about giving up now?"

"Not exactly." Replied Akiza determined, while Ran got a bit surprised of the Signer's strong will "I can and I will win this duel. If I put my heart completely, I can pull this through." She said, turning to her friends "That's something my friends have thought me." She said, smiling.

Everyone in the academy was being moved by Akiza's determination. They all could see she could beat up Ran in any second at any rate. Two girls were quite amazed by her will "Wow, she clearly fights to get accepted in here." Said a red haired girl with a long ponytail with a yellow ribbon, she was about Akiza's age and wearing the academy's female uniform.

"You're right, Ran maybe got her Synchro ace, but…" said another girl, black short haired and staring at the field "I can see Akiza is quite skilled, she's not surprised at the least of Ran's movements."

"That's right Mei; she's quite skilled as her friends." Said a male's voice, as the black haired girl turned around, smiling at the sight of the officer that accompanied Rafael and Mina to the academy "Nice to see you Sakura, is my daughter behaving?"

"Of course I do dad." Replied Mei, a bit embarrassed as Sakura, the red haired girl, giggled a bit. "At any rate, dad, what are you doing here? I thought you were with the Director."

"He's over there Mei, cheering with Akiza's friends for her." replied officer Yamato, smiling "He's here because he's going to talk with you guys later, after this duel."

"So he's that type of guy, huh?" asked Mei, a bit intrigued "I'm sure you'll be okay, as the city will dad, don't you think Sakura?"

"Of course. My parents say he's also a very efficient and responsible person." added Sakura, supporting father and daughter.

**Ran-4000 LP, Hand 4; AKiza-4000 LP, Hand 5**

"This is it, my turn draw!" said Akiza, as she started her turn, feeling somehow that it was the last one "It's time I show you something about teamwork! I activate my spell **Blessing Grass**, which allows me to Special Summon **Grass Tokens** to the field equal to the number of cards I had in my hand this turn!" said Akiza, as 5 grass balls with eyes appeared in the field, staring at Ran's queen.

"Is that all? Really?" asked Ran overconfident "You surely made me lose my time, Akiza."

"Not at all, let me introduce you to a friend of mine!" said Akiza as one token jumped forward "I can tribute 1 plant type monster on the field to summon this card in attack mode!" said Akiza, as a beam of light descended "Come forth, Queen Angel of Roses!" shouted Akiza, as a woman figure with a silver mask, wielding sword, covered in a pretty similar outfit like Akiza, with red plates bellow the skirt as another skirt and with two red wings coming from her back, with blonde hair and a red rosy helmet "Now's time to activate my Trap card!" said Akiza smiling.

"Trap card?" replied Ran surprised "You're not serious, you're just babbling out right?" at that moment, Akiza's face down revealed itself, a card with plant monsters blowing up.

"This is my trap card, **Cycle of Life**, which sends my level 5 or lower plant monsters to the graveyard, allowing me to bring a monster from my graveyard or reducing your LP by 500 times the tokens that were sent to the graveyard." Added Akiza, as Ran's LP dropped to 2000 points "Then I activate my own Queen's effect, which destroys a face up monster with the lowest Atk in the field."

"That's my Queen!" shouted Ran, as Queen of Thorns disappeared, leaving Ran's field wide open "This can't be…without her…"

"Your field is wide open now, Queen Angel of Roses could easily defeat you now Ran." Added Akiza, as all students and teachers watched in anticipation of Ran's close defeat "You said I could never defeat you Ran, but it seems I just proved you wrong."

"That's all." Said Sakura quite surprised "This duel is over, Ran has lost." She added as Mei smiled eagerly.

"Serves her well, she thought of herself as the greatest duelist around here." Added Mei, closing her eyes and crossing her arms "But now, we have a new Queen of Duel Academy, it seems."

"Go on, finish this duel already." said Ran, quite angry. Akiza simply looked at her, with no intentions of attacking at all "What are you waiting for rookie? A formal invitation or what? My field is wide open, you can finish this now!"

"I won't, I give up." said Akiza while Ran and most students were astonished to hear Akiza practically forfeiting the duel; a few other duelists were really moved by that, among them Mei and Sakura, as well as Leo, Luna and their friends "A duel is a more than a simple match, is a way for people to get to know each other and have fun while we're at it. It would be shameful for me to defeat you this way, that's nor the way of a true duelist."

"Akiza…" said Ran, starting to get moved by her decision "But wait, doing so would…"

"I know." replied Akiza, putting her hand in her deck, giving the match. Rafael and Yusei smiled, as he knew exactly that Akiza was following the true ideals of a duelist. All students began clapping, as the duel seemed really intense for just a few turns "It was nice to duel you, Ran." Ran doubted a second to shake hands with Akiza, knowing she had lost and Akiza left her get the duel.

"Sure, god duel Akiza." Answered Ran, shaking hands as the students began shouting their names "Very well, I think I have gained a new rival for me now, right Akiza?" Akiza got startled at hearing that, noting Ran was turning to the crowd "I think we could make an exception with her, right partners?" asked Ran, as the students supported her ideal.

The principal got really happy that in the end, Heitmann's plan didn't go well, but the vice principal also changed ideals, accepting Akiza in the Academy.

"Well, it seems that everything that starts well ends up well, right?" asked Rafael, as the group seemed quite happy of Akiza entering the academy. Her mother and father hugged her dearly, being proud of them.

Soon thereafter, Mei and Sakura joined them, as Ran left while staring at Akiza, happy of her new rival "Hey, nice duel Mrs. Izinski." Said Sakura, cheery and happily.

"Those were some nice moves Akiza, nobody around here gave such a tough challenge to all-high-and-mighty Ran." said Mei, greeting Akiza "By the way, and my name is Mei Yamato."

"Oh right, my name's Sakura." said Sakura introducing herself.

"A pleasure to meet you." replied Akiza vowing a bit and shaking hands with them. Rafael and Mina turned to each other, finding Mei's last name a tad familiar "These are my parents and friends."

"Nice to meet you." Replied everyone happily, until Rafael turned to her.

"Excuse me, Mei, your last name was Yamato, right?" asked Rafael curious.

"That's right." Replied officer Yamato, as he stepped in "Director, Mrs. Simington, this is my daughter, Mei Yamato."

"Now that's a surprise." Said Mina smiling "But well, it's cool that you were accepted in the academy Akiza."

"Now, Director Rafael." Said Agent Yamato, as the Principal stepped inn too "It seems it's time for you to give your speech in the auditorium Director."

Rafael then laughed a bit "Right, I knew I forgot something." Said Rafael a bit nervous "Well, I guess I must do this, I promised to do so, after all."

The group headed off onwards to the auditorium, as many students from the higher levels were listening closely to all the jobs that Sector Security has, as well as what they offer to the citizens, stating that their top priority was ensuring the safety of all citizens and people around New Domino City and Satellite, a dream which he was pursuing in Goodwin's stead. He also stated that he would look forward to giving anyone an opportunity for a better tomorrow, as he envisioned a better New Domino City. At the end of the speech, Rafael was hoping he had said everything clearly, but thought he perhaps said something wrong.

Soon, the students and teachers clapped at his speech, approving his ideals and obviously announcing their support to him. Rafael smiled happily, as his friends watched him amazed.

"_Congratulations Rafael." _Thought Sara, smiling as she watched him "_Perhaps you wonder if you're fit for the job, but I'm quite sure that…you'll do a great job."_ She added, while smiling.

* * *

><p><em><strong>LightLord92: Next time,on Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light: Eternal Bonds!<strong>_

_**Jill: Wow, so my mother was a great pro-duelist?  
>Crow: Seems to be the case Jill, hey look at these cards! They are quite powerful!<br>Jill: Maybe I could try mixing her cards with mine, that way…I could feel closer to her.  
>Rafael: Wow, those cards are really powerful Jill, your mother used them as her Paladin cards.<br>Jill: So she was also a Paladin? Cool!  
>Jill and Rafael: Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light: Eternal Bonds, Episode 6-Legacy of the Emblem, the Deck of Legends!<strong>_

_**Crow: That's the way to go Jill!  
>Sara: So Crow, how long have you and Jill had a crush on each other?<br>Crow and Jill: That's not- We're not-**_

_**LightLord92: You guys better make up your mind! Until next time people!**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>New Cards of the Day:<strong>_

****Blessing Grass; Normal Spell Card****

If this is the first Spell card you activate, you can Special Summon as many 'Grass Tokens' as cards you had in your hand during your Standby Phase. Otherwise, Special Summon 2 'Grass Tokens'.

**Grass Token, Token Monster, Lv 1, Plant type Monster, Atk 0, Def 0, Earth Attribute**

This card can only be used for the Tribute Summon of a Plant type monster.

**Cycle of Life, Normal Trap Card**

Send all Lv 5 or lower monsters from the your side of the field to the Graveyard. Then choose one of the following effects:  
>Reduce your opponent's LP by 400 for each monster sent to the Graveyard by this card's effect.<br>Special Summon any Plant type monster from your Graveyard.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's all for this chapter. Sorry for the long wait guys, but I also suffered from writer's block, so it had me stuck with this chapter. Now, I can go onwards with this story. By the way, some characters will start having cards from their manga counterparts, as well as a few characters from teh manga (like Mei, Sakura, and Ran in thischapter) be appearing for some time. Once again, I remind you of your opinion on the possible Pokémon fanfic. Oh and for those who know from where the Jill appearing here comes, you guys will possibly know what kind of deck she will have in the next chapter. Here's a clue for all of you who may not know, but want to before the chapter is up, a quote from the series she comes:<strong>

_**Fire burns everything and then gives birth to something new.**_

**Also, the series happens to be a videogame series involving two characters from Super Smash Bros Brawl, even if Jill appears in a differente game of the series than the one the quote comes from. See you later guys!**


	6. Episode 6: Legacy of the Emblem

**Hey readers, LightLord92 standing by again. Here goes a special chapter for Jill, since she will have a drastic Deck change from now on. I got this idea of developing a fan-made Deck based on the series where Jill comes from.**

**That's right for those who are already seeing where this is going, this is my first attempt at developing a Fire Emblem themed archetype/Deck for Jill, this one will be a tough challenge, but I wanted to try it out for some time now.**

**Hope you like it, now onwards with today's chapter!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>LightLord92: Episode 6-Legacy of the Emblem, the Deck of Legends.<strong>_

New Domino City's Memorial Field, the final resting place for citizens of the city if the family wants to bury them to keep paying respect to them. A Sector Security van was left in the parking lot, as few vehicles were around today. People were visiting the graves of their loved ones that have left the world; two of them were in one of the tombs that seemed to be of an important person. Rafael was kneeling right in front of the tomb of his adoptive father, Pegasus, still finding it hard to swallow that he had also left.

He remained calm and serious, not wanting to bring in an emotional burst in front of Mina, still recalling that his parents died too and how he couldn't even do a thing about it; he was keeping at bay his emotions "Rafael, are you okay?" asked Mina, as Rafael returned from his thoughts "You seem a bit…uneasy today."

"Sorry Mina." Said Rafael, turning to her and pulling a smile to reassure he was fine, losing it a bit as he stood up "It's just that…I can't believe he has also left." He said, turning his sight to another tomb nearby, one that had many candles and tributes of respect, that of the previous Director "I'm not sure what they saw in me, I'm in no way half the man they were. But…"

"That's not true." Said Mina, a bit hurt of that "True, you're still inexperienced, but I'm quite sure Director Goodwin choose you for this job for a reason." She said, taking Rafael by the hand "When I started working, I made too many mistakes. I kept falling with the same stones frequently, I started thinking like you do now, but" she said, turning her seriousness in calm and happiness "the Director told me to keep going, that soon I would find out the reason I was still there. Eventually I found it, as well as realizing that the Director could see potential hidden in everyone."

Rafael turned his sight again to Pegasus' tomb, a comforted by Mina's kind words "Thanks Mina." He said, turning again to her, showing a real smile this time "Thanks for scolding me and helping me, but I kind of knew that already." He added, as both felt embarrassed a bit.

"No problem." Said Mina, giggling a bit. She spoke the true, but she was unsure of which reason kept her going on this time. Was it Jack Atlas, who she still felt something for even when another girl like Carly had shown up? Or was it the new Director and his former partner, Rafael, who had enough potential to carry on Goodwin's plans? Whatever the reason, she felt something was different now.

"By the way Mina," said Rafael. Mina turned to him, snapping of her thoughts "is there any news on Yusei and company regarding the bridge today?"

Mina simply shook her head "Last I heard from them is that the final stage is about to start." Said Mina "But Crow would be absent for some time. Sara is trying to get more people working on this last stage too, they really want to finish it soon enough."

"Curious, I thought Crow would be around this time." Said Rafael, thinking a bit "Anyways, I guess it would be good to check up on them a little bit, don't you think?"

"Sure." Said Mina smiling, as she wanted to visit Jack for some time "Should we get going, Director?"

"Ummm, sure, but come on, just call me Rafael." said Rafael, scratching his head a bit. He then turned to Pegasus' tomb again, recalling something he promised him "_Don't worry Pegasus, I'll find that Deck you created. I'll hand it over to its respective owner, the one chosen by the Emblem."_

* * *

><p>Satellite's downtown is under reconstruction thanks to the efforts of Sector Security, as well as Yusei and company's workers. After the Dark Signers incident, which has been forgotten already by the citizens, Sector Security has been working on building a bridge to join both factions. However, this time around Crow had to return to Martha's home to check up on some things he promised to help "Crow, don't forget to bring out those boxes left in there!" shouted Martha, while she was piling up old boxes from the house's attic.<p>

"Ok Martha!" shouted Crow from inside the house, as he was walking down the stairs with many boxes piled up. Blister had been staying with them for some time now, helping them too on the house errands "Hey Blister, could you give me a hand with this? I have to return with Jill."

"Sure, no problem" said Blister, taking the boxes as Crow left for the attic again "lovebird."

"What did you say?" asked Crow a bit angry, as he got all red "We're not a couple, get that in your block-head already man!"

"Just joking pal, come on." Replied Blister as he stepped forward, but hitting the wall as the top piled boxes fell to the ground. Crow obviously grinned at Blister's bad luck, quickly getting to the attic again.

A few moments later, both Crow and Jill were outside, sweating a bit, with a big amount of boxes piled up one over the other. Crow sighed, as he began drinking some water "Well, that seems to be all." He said staring at the boxes "I suppose they all belong to Martha."

"Well, you surely are wrong Crow." Replied Martha, as she appeared behind them, handing them some food as thanks "A few of them actually belong to your mother Jill, she gave them to me before the incident."

"So you knew my mom?" asked Jill smiling, as she took a bite of her lunch, Crow already finishing his.

"Yes Jill, we were great friends." She said, taking out of one of the boxes a photograph of Jill's mother, a red haired woman that resembled her quite a lot, with a younger Martha beside her "Actually, that's one of the many reasons I took in Jill as my daughter, when you were born I was chosen as your godmother."

Jill was simply smiling while seeing each of the photos; there were many of her mother during her younger days, as well as a few of her and a baby Jill in her arms "Mom, can I keep her belongings?"

"Sure, I don't see why you wouldn't!" replied Martha, patting Jill's back "Actually I wanted to give you her boxes, to see if you could find anything useful for you."

* * *

><p>Jill began checking up the box that had everything of her mother inside, taking many photos until she was surprised to see something inside. A gold medal with the inscription '1st Place in the Domino Duelists Tournament'. She later saw more photos of her mother's younger days but dueling as an ace, even one where her mother was beside a man that resembled Rafael too, thinking it could be her friend's father.<p>

"Wow, your mother was a great duelist in her prime years." Said Crow, as they saw more photos of Jill's mother, winning many tournaments "Now I see why you're so skilled in Duel Monsters."

"Wow, I had no idea." Said Jill, as she kept looking in the box taking out a few things, leaving a dusty box inside, a bit big "What could this be?" Jill then blew away the dust, opening the box "WOOOOOOW! Look at this Crow!" shouted Jill in amazement, as Crow tagged along.

Inside the box, there were many cards. Many of them were exclusive cards her mother had, while others were simply a mystery for the two teenagers. Inside, Jill saw a note above the main deck her mother used; Jill began reading it closely, while Crow picked a few cards from the box.

'_Dear Jill,  
>I have a feeling it is you who is reading this note, I really trust Martha would never allow someone else to search in the things I left with her. There's little I can really say, at the moment I'm writing this letter you're still a cute little baby, many things have happened for sure with the flow of time.<em>

_I'm sorry my daughter, but I had my reasons to still work in Dr. Fudo's project. If I hadn't, I could be by your side right now, talking with you perhaps about boys you like or that you want to try Dueling Monsters, I don't know._

_Life is a mystery; we grow to learn the ways of life. This box is full of cards unique on their kind, they are quite powerful, but come with a great responsibility. I'm pretty sure that if you are a duelist like me, you will put them to good use._

_I'm sorry I can't be with you right now, but I love you daughter, so does your father. We will always be with you, in your heart; no matter what.  
>-With love, your Mom and Dad.<br>PS: I leave as a memento of us a treasure of mine, it's a pendant that I called the Fire Emblem. Take care of it.'_

* * *

><p>A single tear fell to the letter, as Jill began crying. Inside, she was obviously suffering from the emotive parts of the letter her mother left behind for her, wishing that she could be perhaps alive. Crow patted her shoulder to ease her pain.<p>

"Hey, cheer up." Said Crow quite sure "You have lead a life your parents would be proud of, let them know you can keep up that track."

Jill then smiled, cleaning her tears and standing up while heading to Crow, hugging him "Thanks Crow, really." She then took the pendant, a strange silver and bronze metal medallion, wearing it as a necklace, it had a strange pattern or symbol in it, with the form of a dragon's head.

Crow simply got a bit embarrassed chuckling. He then saw the cards and got an idea "Hey, I know of a why that you could perhaps think of your mother in a less painful way."

"What do you mean?" asked Jill, turning to the cards in the box "Do you mean…"

"Mix your deck with the best cards your mother used." Said Crow smiling eagerly "Who knows, perhaps her cards are far powerful than they appear to be."

* * *

><p>A brief time later, after Jill and Crow had cleaned up everything, they started working on the new Deck, trying to keep its style and even improve its play with the new cards. Finally, Jill finished building her new deck. As they were about to test it out, Jack, Carly, Yusei, Sara, Akiza, Luna and Leo were arriving to the house, seeing how Jill and Crow were working on that, the three last ones wearing Duel Academy's uniform.<p>

Jack got a tad angry, as he immediately went to yell at Crow "So this is the reason you were absent today?" asked Jack as Carly and Yusei tried to keep him at bay "Crow, you slipped from our job to spend one day with Jill? There's a time and place for everything Crow!"

"Jack calm down!" shouted Martha, as she came from the house "They were helping me do a cleanup of the house, we found some things from Jill's mother and they started working on Jill's new deck."

"Oh, so the girlie has a new deck." Said Jack with a grin in his face, as he saw an opportunity to duel since he was eager to do so "Let's go Jill! Show me what this new deck of yours is capable of and I will apologize for this!"

"You really got a new deck?" asked Yusei curious too "If that's so let's check it out then! I'll give it a try too."

Jill looked at her new deck, thinking that was a good chance to test her mother's deck might "It's fine with me. Let's go Yusei! You'll be the first one to taste this new power!" said Jill as she readied her duel disk. Yusei did the same, with a smile on his face while Jack felt himself left out of the action.

Sometime went by and a bright light began to shine in the duel field, as Stardust dragon was in the field while Jill lost her remaining LP, Yusei's being barely in 500 "Man…that was a close call…" said Yusei, dropping to the ground letting go a sigh, while Jill looked at her deck "That was a nice duel Jill, you almost got me there."

"Yeah but…" replied Jill, turning to her deck, a bit disappointed "Perhaps there are still way too many cards…I'll take a few out, most of these don't actually fit that well." She said, taking out a bunch of cards "This should do, I'll still keep some synchros and tuners, just in case."

"Well, it appears it's my turn then!" shouted Jack eager to have a duel, however Jill simply passed beside him, ignoring him.

"Yusei, let's have a rematch!" upon saying that Jack, fell forward in a funny anime fashion, turning around angered while Carly tried to calm him down.

"Hey Jill, you can't simply ignore me like that! Duel me now!" said Jack, getting impatient.

"No Jack, you always over react in a duel. There's no way I'm dueling with you right now." said Jill, crossing arms and turning her back on Jack.

"Jack, you should calm down a little…" said Carly, as Jack simply walked towards Jill ignoring Carly who seemed rather nervous now "Jack, wait!" Jack simply had a mischievous grin in his face, as if he knew a way to force her to duel him

"What are you afraid of, girlie?" asked Jack. Suddenly, Jill simply stopped walking, while Crow's expression turned blank "Oh right, you never defeated me in the past, so what would be the difference now? I saw a few of your last moves so I could counter them easily, girlie." Carly got nervous, as everyone began taking some distance, Crow especially, as he noted Jill getting angry.

"Oh boy, now you did it Jack, great!" shouted Crow worried while Jill lifted her closed fist, with some fire surrounding her while her eyes remained hidden, turning to Jack.

"Oh no, this can't be good right?" asked Carly quite worried, while Jack smiled in satisfaction as he planned workout "Jack, you better apologize now!"

"Not at all." Said Jill, trying to contain her anger "Jack, you wanted a duel right?" she asked as her eyes began glowing "Then be ready for your duel! I'll make you pay for calling me girlie! I've told you a million times that I hate it when people call me like that!" shouted Jill, as her anger was now pretty much evident, her duel disk starting up.

"Show me what you can do then!" replied Jack anxious, as the duel was about to begin "Duel!"

* * *

><p>Sometime later, Mina was driving her car with Rafael tagging along, heading to Martha's place in Satellite, not too far from it now, until they heard a roar coming from there "Did you hear that Mina?" asked Rafael, as he was awakened by that roar, which was heard again.<p>

"Yeah, seems to come from Martha's house, but isn't that…" she replied, as her thoughts were confirmed once they got near. Red Dragon Archfiend was standing by the house, until it was annihilated into debris, meaning it got destroyed in a duel "No, Mr. Atlas is in troubles!"

"Don't get conclusions too early, let's get there to see what's going on." Suggested Rafael, as the van was getting to Martha's house.

As Rafael and Mina got to the house yards, they saw Jack, kneeling down while sweating bit in concern, staring at a smiling Jill, which had just won a duel against the toughest of the members of Team Satisfaction, and possibly her own rival "It can't be…that much power…in a single deck? What's this…madness?" said Jack, in his own way of admitting his defeat.

"All right! It seems we're up and ready for the big leagues guys!" said Jill celebrating as Crow and company clapped to congratulate her in her recent victory "And you better watch what you say of me while I'm nearby Jack, from now on." Jack simply turned around, as Carly tried to cheer him up but him standing up quickly.

"Nonsense! I demand a rematch right now! The best of three!" shouted Jack, until Carly got to him.

"But Jack, you've already lost 2 duels in a row." She said, angering Jack a bit without knowing and then getting nervous "But I'm sure you can win the next one, I have faith!"

"Then it is a best of 5!" added Jack determined, while Jill sighed.

"Jack, calm down a bit okay?" she said, now regretting her victory "This is why I didn't want to duel you, a need someone else to fight, someone fresh and that does know how this deck works." At that moment, Mina and Rafael decided to enter at the scene.

"Mr. Atlas, are you alright?" asked Mina, hurrying to Jack's side to help him, but with no success and instead ending up in a discussion with Carly.

"Stay away Mina, Jack is quite fine!" said Carly, throwing Jack away of the discussion, hurting him a bit.

"Oh yeah Carly? Then you should stay away too, Mr. Atlas has things to take care of yet!" replied Mina, as they each glared to the other, Jack standing up on his own.

"Well, that's something you don't see every day, do you?" asked Rafael, making fun of the scene while heading to the others "Hi guys, good to see you." Rafael then got a glimpse of Jill's pendant, immediately recognizing it.

"Hey Rafael, good to see you." Said Yusei as he and Sara walked towards him, as he snapped out of the medallion "I've got some news, the bridge could be finished by tomorrow's evening."

"We've put a lot of work on it; the end is getting closer now." Added Sara smiling, noting Rafael was kind of spacing out while looking at Jill "Rafael, you okay?" she then tried to see what he was watching but, getting the wrong idea "I didn't know you were THAT interested, Rafael." She said giggling.

"What are you talking about, Sara?" asked Rafael, until Sara continued laughing. Rafael got a bit red of nervousness, immediately defending himself "Hey Sara, I wasn't doing that! And I thought Alan was the bully, it really is you!"

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Jill curious.

"Nothing really." replied Rafael, getting his calm back "Hey Jill, where did you get that pendant, if I may ask?"

"Oh, this one is a memento from my mother." She said, taking the pendant in her hand "She said it was one of her treasures, I found it with some cards my mother left behind for me."

"So that means…" said Rafael, thinking a bit, while staring at Jill's face a bit, making her kind of feel uncomfortable.

"Umm, Director Rafael…what are you...doing?" she asked nervous.

"Of course!" shouted Rafael, as he finally saw it "Your mother, was she Amelia Fizzart by any chance?" Jill immediately got shocked to hear Rafael calling her mother's name.

"How…did you know?" she asked, knowing she never told Rafael's group her mother's name, as well as Crow and his friends always keeping it a secret.

"Your mother was a very formidable Paladin." said Rafael smiling "The best researcher in my father's time, as well as a tough duelist, the only one capable of giving my fight a rough time."

"So you mean my mother was a member of the Paladins of Light?"

"Pretty much, they said her Deck was legendary." Continued Rafael, recalling the tales he heard of her "They nicknamed her 'Princess of the Emblem', because she worked with cards of a unique archetype, cards related to the Fire Emblem." Then it hit him immediately "Don't tell me…could you have those cards right here and now?"

Jill showed him her duel disk "It's right here. Some of the cards mixed up with my own deck. It's now faster and stronger for sure. Wanna try it out?"

"Of course! It was always my dream to face that deck!" replied Rafael, taking his deck and putting on a Duel Disk lent by Yusei "Let's do this Jill."

"Let's duel!" shouted both duelists, as Jack's fangirls stopped discussing and headed to see the duel. Both Jill and Rafael took their 5 cards, as the duel was about to begin "If you don't mind, I'd like to go first." said Jill, kind of asking if he agreed to that; Rafael simply nodded, as Jill started her turn.

**Jill 4000 LP, Hand 6; Rafael 4000 LP, Hand 5**

"Time to get things heating up! I start with the permanent magic, **Blessing of Deities**!" said Jill, as a spell card with the image of three bishops worshipping a stone statue appeared "With it, I can return one card in my Hand to the Deck" she said, putting some card, the Deck then shuffled "and then I can draw a new card." She said, getting a new card and smiling "Here goes a second go, I'll summon **Marcia, Pegasus Knight Guard** to the field!" a woman wearing a red long boots and a white shirt with red light armor plate in her chest and shoulders, pink colored hair appeared, mounting a white Pegasus and wielding a lance "I'll end my turn with this set."

**Jill 4000 LP, Hand 3; Rafael 4000 LP, Hand 6**

"Well, let's see what this legendary deck has in store, my turn!" shouted Rafael, seeing his move right away "I'm summoning Kaibaman to the field!" said Rafael as the card made in image of Kaiba appeared "But he won't stay long, since I will bring forth Blue Eyes White Dragon!" a beam of light fell on Kaibaman, as the huge and fierce dragon appeared out of the blue, roaring fiercely while the pegasus got startles of Jill's monster got startled "Time for action! Attack Blue Eyes, Burst Stream of Destruction!" shouted Rafael as his monster charged the strike.

"Not at all! Marcia's effect enters in stage now!" said Jill as Marcia threw her lance at Rafael's deck, picking the top card "Anytime Marcia battles, you pick the top card, depending on the card, it's the effect I get to trigger." Said Jill smiling confidently as Rafael picked the card, his dragon still charging "So, what is it?"

"I got a trap card, Mirror Force." Replied Rafael, showing the card. At that moment his dragon stopped the attack "I see, Marcia is like that Neo-Spacian."

"If you get a trap card, Marcia will finish the Battle Phase." Said Jill, as Rafel just set his card.

"You know what this is, I set it and end my turn." Said Rafael smiling, as he was finding the duel entertaining and challenging "I wonder what will come now."

**Jill 4000 LP, Hand 4; Rafael 4000 LP, Hand 4**

"Here goes my turn now!" said Jill and smiling "And I get to activate **Blessing of Deities **second effect, when I draw a Spell card, I can draw an additional card." She added, showing off Reinforcements of the Army "Now, in my standby phase, I return this one to get another draw." She said, putting a card on her Deck, shuffling and drawing.

"Wow, Jill's new deck sure is quick." said Sara, standing close to Yusei "I've never seen such speed in a deck and taking advantage of every single card."

"This new deck of hers belongs to her mother." Replied Yusei serious, yet smiling at the duel "It means a lot for her, so she mixed her best cards with her mother's. This won't be easy at all for Rafael, not in the least."

"Jill will take him down easily!" shouted Crow confident while smiling "I know she can do this."

"Say Crow" said Sara in an asking tone "have you ever thought of telling her your feelings?" asked Sara, teasing him as he immediately got embarrassed, as Jill over heard it too.

"We've told it already! We're not a couple!" both of them shouted at the same time, turning to the other and immediately looking somewhere else, as it was a bit awkward.

"Never mind that! I have a duel to win. I will tribute Marcia now for a Class Change!" shouted Jill, as a glowing light covered Marcia.

"Class Change? What's that?" asked Rafael curious, while Jill prepared to explain.

"You see, the cards in this Deck have additional information on its type. That one is their class. Many of these cards can upgrade quickly, which when used with a spell card, allows them to get stronger." Said Jill as Marcia disappeared for a moment, a glowing light coming from her "But sometime I can decide when to do it, let me introduce you the new **Marcia, Holy Falcoknight**!" out of the beam, Jill's monster came through; the pegasi had now a horn in its head, while the pink haired woman's armor was upgraded and tougher, while she wore a red cape; a warrior packing 2300 Atk points.

"Wow, that's something you don't see every day huh?" asked Rafael worried, as he thought something bad could happen now "So, what's next?"

"First, the spell card **Magician's Order**, which allows me to destroy one set card in the field, like your Mirror Force!" shouted Jill while showing a card with the image of a mage with an arcane circle, Rafael's face down Mirror Force then blew up "I still have my Normal Summon of the turn. I bring forth **Mia, Fiery Swordfighter**!" she said smiling, as a purple mid-short haired woman with an orange dress, black stockings and boots appeared, swinging a slender sword, with 1400Atk points "And here we go! Marcia, attack Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

"Wait Jill, but that dragon is stronger!" shouted Crow, worried that Jill would kill off her own monster like that.

"You still got a few things to learn Crow, she's planning something ahead." Said Jack seriously and calmed, as Jill nodded.

"Marcia still has her effect, but this time I draw the cards!" added Jill, as she smiled "I got this one, **Mia, Lady of Blades**. Drawing a monster card allows me to increase Marcia's Atk by 1000 points!" she said as the pegasi swoop down, while the pink haired woman stabbed Blue Eyes White Dragon with a lance, destroying it "Next, is Mia, who can attack twice this turn!" she added as the purple haired swordfighter passed quickly to Rafael, swinging her sword two times and reducing Rafael's LP greatly.

"Man…this is really tough…" said Rafael, as his LP hit 900 in a single round.

"I end my turn with one set." Said Jill, as she had control over the field now.

**Jill 4000 LP, Hand 4; Rafael 900 LP, Hand 5**

"Well, here goes nothing!" shouted Rafael, getting his card and smiling "I'll summon **Dragoon Priestess** in defense mode position." a woman with light armor and a white dress landed in front of him, wielding a sacred staff with a dragon head figurine in its top; having 100 Atk and 2200 Def points "Now, I'll activate its effect which lets me target any Dragon or 'Dragoon' monster I control, then increasing my LP according to the monster I chose, which is my own Priestess."

"Being a Dragoon monster the one he chose…" said Yusei as Sara concluded the sentence.

"He will select her Def to increase his LP, having now 3100 total LP." She said, as Rafael's LP became that.

"And to ensure her safety, I will equip her with Mist Body. I end my turn." Said Rafael, as a mist shield surrounded his priestess.

**Jill 4000 LP, Hand 5; Rafael 3100 LP, Hand 3**

"Here I go, my turn." Said Jill as her spell card didn't activate this time "I will Special Summon **Mia, Lady of Blades **by tributing my **Mia, Fiery Swordfighter**!" shouted Jill as another light beam surrounded Mia, right away she emerged with a single piece orange dress with folded long neck, two black independent sleeves in her arms and long gray stockings, wielding a long and sharp slender sword in her right arm; having 2300 Atk and 2100 Def points "Then I summon in defense position **Rolf, Faithful Archer**!" she added, as a green haired boy with blue clothes, green shorts, left shoulder armor plate and a belt with a quiver in his back appeared in the field wielding a bow; having 1200 Atk and 1000 Def points.

"Archer…that sounds a bit frightening…" said Rafael, having an idea of what that archer could do.

"You're right, by halving his Atk until this End Phase" said Jill, as Rolf's Atk dropped to 600, he took an arrow and aimed at Rafael "it can attack you directly this turn! Go Rolf!" she added, as the boy shot the arrow, hitting Rafael's Duel disk "Then in my Main Phase 2, I will change Rolf to defense position, that's all."

Yusei and company watched carefully every move in the duel. It seemed that they didn't know who to root for, as both duelists were giving their all at the moment, but Jill had the upper hand "Jill's deck is quite ferocious." He said, Sara, Mina, Akiza, Jack and the twins turning to him "Her deck quickly adapts to any situation, plus her cards are almost in perfect synchrony with each other. The only real danger is the variety of the cards she can get, not all of them are easily summoned or cooperate correctly, but she fixed it with her search cards."

Sara turned to Rafael, who was still smiling at the duel, even though he was having the hard time "Rafael won't give up easily, he has overcome great trials before. Plus he saves some cards for the end."

"So, the duel is pretty even right?" said Akiza, as Yusei and Sara nodded at the same time.

**Jill 4000 LP, Hand 3; Rafael 2500 LP, Hand 4**

"My turn." Said Rafael, still with nothing in hand to counter Jill's moves "Well, I'll use my priestess' effect to increase my LP by 2200 points again and set a card!" said Rafael, as the priestess rose her staff, a light surrounding Rafael as his LP increased by another 2200, reaching 4700 points "That should do by now, unless you can get through my priestess…"

**Jill 4000 LP, Hand 4; Rafael 4700 LP, Hand 3**

"My turn now." Said Jill, as she got an unexpected card, staring at it deeply "What is…how?" she asked, shaking her head "Well, this one will surprise everyone as it did with me." She said giggling a bit "I summon **Jill, Lady of Wyverns**!" she shouted, as everyone got surprised to hear her say that card's name was Jill. A dragon-like monster appeared in the field roaring, until it landed on its feet; atop of it, a woman encases in pink armor appeared, wielding an pole axe in her right arm, it was a woman that looked identical to Jill, having 1400 Atk and 1800 Def points.

"Now…that's a surprise…" said Crow, dumbfounded and confused as everyone, while switching sights from the monster Jill just summoned and her; they were identical, obviously without the same clothes and the armor, but they really looked alike, like if they were sisters or something like that "Anyways…Jill, win this duel!" he kept cheering his friend, as Jill nodded.

"Heh, I've come this far, it won't be that easy." Said Rafael, anxiously waiting to see the end of the duel "But one thing's sure;" he said in thoughts "it won't be easy for any of us; her cards will keep me at bay for some time now, while I barely have something to do." Suddenly, the dragon roared .

"But that's not all, my card's effect activates, allowing me to add any monster from my Deck to my Hand." She added, as she picked her card and kept her in her hand "Let's try again, shall we? With Rolf's power back to normal I'll cut it down again and change him to attack position to attack directly!" Rolf's power became 600 again, as the kid aimed another arrow at Rafael and fired directly "Then Marcia will attack you, meaning I draw a new card!" she said, smiling "And I got this one **Mercenaries, Rally!;** meaning your Priestess changes to attack mode!" she added, as Marcia attacked Rafael's priestess which had 100 attack points, resulting in a lot of damage "Now's Mia's turn to do a double attack! And this improved version gains 200 points times the level of the monster battling with her, as well as attacking twice!" Mia swiftly swung her sword two times, barely touching Rafael's Priestess, but aiming at his LP.

"That's it! One more attack and you win Jill!" shouted Crow happily, while Sara simply smirked silently.

"Sorry Rafael, but I'll win this duel! Time to go for it, Jill, attack!" ordered Jill, as the dragon swoop by with the Jill mounting it readying her axe to hit Rafael with it, as it returned to Jill's side "I guess I win right?" she asked, until she realized it later on "Wait, you…"

"That's right, I activated Waboku after Marcia's attack, saving my LP all this round." Replied Rafael confident, while Jill smiled.

"You know, you really make this a challenge." Said Jill, holding one card "I'll upgrade Rolf, bringing in **Rolf, Advanced Sniper **in defense position!" a light surrounded the green haired kid, as it began glowing intensely and the kid jumping from it with better archer's equipment, armor, and slightly longer edges on the back of his blue coat; a warrior of 2300 Atk points and 2000 Def "I end my turn, but with every turn Rolf ends in defense mode, he will cause 1000 damage points!" Rolf readied two arrows this time, aiming and immediately shooting them at Rafael, causing damage after all in this turn.

"Great…this is the kind of challenge I was hoping for!" shouted Rafael, intrigued of what was to come now.

"I can say the same, Rafael." Replied Jill smiling eagerly, while keeping her right hand in her hip "I want to see how well a pro can handle this deck, let's give it our best now!"

_To be continued…_

* * *

><p><strong>LightLord92: Next time on Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds!<br>Rafael: Man, Jill's attacks are really powerful, come forth Dragoon Assassin!  
>Jill: Sorry, but you haven't seen the real hitters of this Deck. All of this was just some warm-up, the fun is about to start!<br>Jaden: WOOOOOOW! I thought I would miss this duel! Wait, warm-up? For what now?  
>Alexis: Jaden, just watch the duel okay?<br>Sara: This is really impressive, if Rafael resorts to his Dragoons…  
>Yusei: Perhaps Jill will resort to something stronger.<br>Jack: Urgh! Perhaps that blue haired warrior!  
>Crow: Go Jill! Show Rafael you can give him a challenge! Next time on Yu Gi Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds; Episode 7: Clashing Swords, Dragoon Knight Lord VS Legendary Champion!<strong>

**Jill: From a land marked by war, he shall rise again to fight for justice! Come forth, Hero of Tellius!  
>Rafael: Knight that fights bravely for life, lend me your strength! Come forth, Dragoon Knight Lord!<br>Sara and Yusei: This will get interesting, don't miss next chapter!  
>Jack: Specially Fire Emblem fans that are reading this. Humph, LightLord92, you made that Deck broken.<br>LightLord92: Broken? Perhaps, but you need right timing to get the best combos.  
>Jack: That's still broken!<br>LightLord92: Oh, ever mind that, I won't argue with you. Well, that's all for today. I do wonder what you readers think of this new fan-made deck. It's a bit complex to make it less broken, but in the end that's the best I could do, I would like ot hear what you think about them; see you around and don't forget to review!**

* * *

><p><strong>New Cards of the Day:<strong>

**Blessing of Deities; Continuous Spell Card (image of Ashera, Yune, and two more shadows in a serene shrine)  
><strong>There can only be one face up 'Blessing of Deities' in the field. During your Draw Phase, if you draw a Spell card, you can reveal it and draw 1 card. During your Main Phase, you can return one card in your Hand to your Deck and then draw 1 card.

**Marcia, Pegasus Knight Guard; Lv 3, Fire Attribute, Effect Warrior type Monster, Peg. Knight; Atk 1300, Def 800 (Marcia, from Fire Emblem 9 as Pegasus Knight)  
><strong>If this card battles, your opponent draws the top card of their Deck. Depending on the card's type, activate the corresponding effect: Monster) Double this card's Atk points. Spell) Change this card's Battle Position. Trap) End the Battle Phase.

**Marcia, Holy Falcoknight; Lv 6, Fire Attribute, Effect Warrior type Monster, Falcoknight; Atk 2300, Def 1900 (Marcia, from Fire Emblem 10 as Falcoknight)  
><strong>This card can be Special Summoned by tributing 'Marcia, Pegasus Knight Guard' in your side of the Field. When this card battles, draw the top card of your Deck. Depending on the card's type, activate the corresponding effect: Monster) Increase this card's Atk by 1000 points. Spell) Change the Battle Position of all monsters your opponent controls. Trap) End the Battle Phase.

**Magician's Order, Normal Spell Card (a mage with an arcane circle)**  
>Select one set card your opponent controls and destroy it.<p>

**Mia, Fiery Swordfighter; LV 4, Fire Attribute, Effect Warrior type Monster, Myrmidon; Atk 1400, Def 900 (Mia from Fire Emblem 9 as Myrmidon)  
><strong>When this card is summoned you can add a Spellcaster or Warrior type monster from your Deck to your Hand. This card can attack twice per turn.

**Mia, Lady of Blades; Lv 7; Fire Attribute, Effect Warrior type Monster, Swordmaster; Atk 2300, Def 2100 (Mia from Fire Emblem 10 as Swordmaster)  
><strong>This card can be Special Summoned by tributing 'Mia, Fiery Swordfighter' in your side of the Field. When this card battles, increase this card's Atk by 200 points times the level of the opponent's monster it's fighting. This card can attack twice per turn.

**Dragoon Priestess, Level 3, Effect Tuner Monster, Spellcaster, Light, Atk 100, Def 2200 (a woman wearing a white robe/tunic equipped with light shoulder armor plates and a staff with a dragon statue in the top)**

Once per turn, you can activate one of the following effects:  
>A) Select a Dragon type monster in your side of the field. Increase your LP by that monster's level x 200.<br>B) Select a "Dragoon" monster in your side of the field. Increase your LP by that monster's Atk or Def.

**Rolf, Faithful Archer; Lv 3, Wind Attribute, Effect Warrior type Monster, Archer; Atk 1200, Def 1000 (Rolf from Fire Emblem 9 as Archer)  
><strong>By halving this cards Atk until the End Phase of this turn, this card can attack your opponent directly. If this card attacks, you can change it to Defense position in your Main Phase 2. If this card battles with Winged-Beast type Monsters, double this card's attack.

**Rolf, Advanced Sniper; Lv 6, Wind Attribute, Effect Warrior type Monster, Sniper; Atk 2300, Def 2000 (Rolf from Fire Emblem 10 as Sniper)  
><strong>This card can be Special Summoned by tributing a face up 'Rolf, Faithful Archer' in your side of the field. During your End Phase, if this card is in Defense position, inflict 1000 points of Damage to your opponent. If this card battles with Winged-Beast type Monsters, increase this card's attack by 1500 points.

**Jill, Lady of Wyverns; Lv 4, Light Attribute, Effect Warrior type Monster, Wyvern Rider; Atk 1400, Def 1800 (Jill from Fire Emblem 9 as Wyvern Rider)  
><strong>When this card is summoned, you can add any monster from your Deck to your Hand. If this monster would be destroyed in battle, you can pay 500 Life Points. It won't be destroyed until the End Phase of this turn.

**Mercenaries, Rally! ; Continuous Spell Card  
><strong>By discarding a card from your Hand, you can add from your Deck to your Hand a card with 'Ike', 'Soren', 'Titania', 'Mist', 'Oscar', 'Boyd', 'Rolf', 'Shinon', 'Gatrie', 'Rhys', ' Mia', or 'Volke' in its name.

* * *

><p><strong>By the way, to any other<strong>** Fire Emblem fan out there, you should be wary that today, April 20th**** is the**** 22nd anniversary of Fire** **Emblem**** video game series.**** IS (creators of this series) is releasing**** a new great game for the series, the 13th entry. For those of us who live in America, let's hope this one makes it here without too much trouble! See you later!**


	7. Episode 7: Clashing Swords

**Hello everyone, LightLord92 standing by again with the next chapter of Eternal Bonds. Well, college and I were a complete mix this semester, so that's the reason why updates were slower this time around.**

**Well, here's the conclusion of the previous duel we witnessed. After that we'll have a few fill-ins for this volume and that could possibly surprise a few of you, maybe not. Anyways, let's go with today's chapter for now.**

**UPDATE: GREAT! I had completely forgot I had this one in store already, am I suffering amnesia now? Crazy. Anyways, sorry for the long wait, I can't believe I just uploaded it in my manager and then forgot it. So, here's the chapter I owed you guys. Yeah, embarrasing for me, quite a lot; completely, let's get going then.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>"<em>Great…this is the kind of challenge I was hoping for!" shouted Rafael, intrigued of what was to come now.<em>

"_I can say the same, Rafael." Replied Jill smiling eagerly, while keeping her right hand in her hip "I want to see how well a pro can handle this deck, let's give it our best now!"_

**LightLord92: Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light: Eternal Bonds, Jill uncovers a mysterious deck of her mother, left for her to use.  
>Jack: That Deck is completely uber LightLord92! You've got to hinder it with something!<br>Yusei: Actually, it's not completely uber. Yeah the monsters are powerful, but if you don't have the right cards it's almost useless.  
>Crow: You just were unlucky Jack, admit it.<br>Jill: Actually he was unlucky for 3 duels, which I won with this deck.  
>Rafael: Let's hope I do better then, this is just the beginning right Jill?<br>Jill: Yeah! I haven't gone full-power on you, but I'm enjoying this duel a lot!  
>Sara: I don't know who to root for, do your best both of you!<strong>

**LightLord92: Episode 7- Clashing Swords, Dragoon Knight Lord VS Legendary Champion!**

* * *

><p>"Just let me get something right, okay?" asked Jill curious, as Rolf had already shot the arrows at Rafael.<p>

"Sure, go ahead." Replied Rafael, as his priestess was still in the field and his LP untouched.

"When I attacked with Rolf, you activated the face down Waboku, am I right?" asked Jill, noticing how Rafael's LP were still at 4700, while his priestess panted a bit.

"Yep, that was a close call." Replied Rafael smiling then sighing "Tough I admit I wanted to use it on a different circumstance, it's a cheap way to earn some time."

Jill simply giggled a bit "So, my deck is being quite a challenge, I assume."

"Yeah, just what I expected and much more." Replied Rafael smiling "But this is not over yet for any of us."

Yusei and Sara were looking at both contenders, noting none of them was willing to give up yet, Jill had a complete upper hand over Rafael, while Rafael was spending some time saving himself from Jill's attacks "That's quite impressive, Rafael is still handling his own quite well." Said Yusei surprised of how well their friend was taking the duel.

"Well, it' no surprise, that's Rafael to you." Added Sara, while Jack was looking a tad worked up "What's the matter Jack? Don't tell me you're jealous Rafael is doing fine so far." She said, trying to tease him a bit, which worked out perfectly as Jack turned around.

"Humph, your friend there perhaps is doing fine, but until he deals with that warrior he won't surprise me at all." Said Jack, obviously not taking well that Yusei had won against Jill, Rafael was holding his own and he barely touched her LP in their duels.

"Jack, you don't have to feel bad of losing." Said Carly trying to cheer him up "You played well-"

"I'M NOT ANGRY ABOUT LOSING!" replied Jack angrily, as Mina tried to calm him down too, but with no success.

"Forget it Jack, I was just joking a bit." Said Sara, turning back her attention to the duel, as Rafael was about to continue his move.

**Jill 4000 LP, Hand 4; Rafael 3700 LP, Hand 4**

"Here goes my move, draw!" shouted Rafael, as he began smirking "This will do some good on my side for now, though it won't be pretty. I change my Priestess to defense position" He said, as the priestess kneeled and covered with her staff, then picking the card he got "Let me introduce you to one of the most powerful Dragoon Techniques, this is the power of their bonds!" he added as a card with the image of a knight uniting with a dragon soul appeared in the field "This is the **Way of the Dragoon**, a special Spell card that, by removing from play a Warrior and a Dragon type monster, allows me to Special Summon a Dragoon from my Extra Deck or two from my Deck." He then picked a Marauding Captain and Exploder Dragon from his deck.

"So, where's your monster?" asked Jill eager "I want to see the power of the Dragoons Yusei spoke greatly of."

"Patience is one of the requirements of the Dragoons, but this one prefers to act from the shadows or sneaking on its enemies, **Dragon Lord - Dragoon Assassin.**" Added Rafael, as Jill got a bit curious with Crow and company getting worried.

"Jill, behind you!" shouted Crow, as Jill turned back to see the shadowy dragoon warrior, jumping then from behind her to Rafael's side of the field.

"Now that's a new card, useful but a bit odd." Said Yusei surprised.

"The only bad part is that Rafael won't be able to bring it back if it gets destroyed." Said Sara, knowing how most Synchro monsters worked with this kind of effect "Let's see how Rafael works this one out; tough the balance is pretty much even."

Rafael's dragoon warrior simply began toying with a strange looking dagger, as it kept more on a belt, while the air blew its gray torn cape while staring at Jill's warriors; it had 2400 Atk points, with 1700 Def points "Granted, it may look weak but you must beware of his attacks for sure." He said, as the dragoon readied an assault, disappearing like in an after image "Assassin, strike down Marcia right now!" ordered Rafael, as the assassin appeared behind Marcia, who looked scared.

"First things first! Marcia's ability activates!" said Jill as she tried to pick her card, but couldn't do so "Wait, what's happening?" asked Jill surprised, as the assassin stroke down Marcia, defeating the first monster of Jill swiftly, returning to his field "What happened there?"

"That's odd; Jill should have drawn a new card due to Marcia's effect." Said Akiza curious, trying to figure out what happened "Rafael has no Forbidden Lance activated, so it wasn't that."

"Perhaps that card he activated earlier is the reason, right Sara?" asked Yusei, while Sara nodded.

"That's right, the **Way of the Dragoon**, when in the graveyard, grants him the chance of trading another dragon or warrior from his graveyard to cancel out a monster's effect or reduce battle damage to 0." replied Sara smiling "Moreover, as long as he has warriors or dragons there, which will be easy for him, he can activate that effect once per turn."

"Wait, how come that card is that powerful without having a drawback?" asked Crow a bit worried, not realizing most of Jill's cards effects.

"Really Crow?" asked in unison Yusei and Sara, getting a bit embarrassed after that "Jill's cards are far powerful, but the drawback is the combination they have." Said Yusei as Crow admitted Jill's new deck was powerful and almost invincible, but relied so much on the cards she controlled or had in hand.

"Anyways, there is a drawback that you'll see soon enough." Added Sara, as Rafael continued.

"Before ending my turn, I activate my priestess' ability, using this time my Assassin to fuel up my LP." Said Rafael, as the priestess rose her staff, as Rafael's LP became 6100 "Now, I end my turn." When Rafael said that, the spirit of Blue Eyes White Dragon, the monster Rafael used to negate Marcia's effect appeared, roaring fiercely "Unfortunately, each End Phase I use that spell card's negation effect takes half the removed monster's Atk from my LP." He added, as Blue Eyes spirit disappeared, creating a powerful current that decreased Rafael's LP to 4600.

"I see, so if you use that spell card, you will get closer to deplete your LP, right?" asked Jill, finding an opening in her opponent's strategy.

"Kind of, but you will have to find that out." Replied Rafael, as Jill readied her next move.

**Jill 3900 LP, Hand 5; Rafael 4600 LP, Hand 3**

"My turn, draw and I activate the Spell card **Mercenaries, Rally! **spell card!" shouted Jill, as the spell card, portraying a mercenary band appeared "With this one, I can add any monster with certain words on their names, for example" she said, as her deck pushed a card "Ike!" she said, showing the image of a young blue haired warrior, wearing a blue coat and red cape with whitish pants and boots, wielding a sword and a headband.

Jack simply got serious than ever, remembering that card very well "Not that one, she is surely readying a finale for the duel." He said, as that card was the beginning of his defeats against Jill.

"Jack, don't worry about it, there's no shame on losing-" said Carly, then shutting up immediately as Jack began getting a bit angry, while turning his stare at her.

"For additional support, I'll set a card." said Jill smirking.

Watching the duel, Crow couldn't help but feel perhaps losing Marcia made Jill take some preventive actions, going for a safer course of action "Jill, what are you trying to do for now?" asked Crow to himself in thoughts "You can end the duel for sure, but you seem a bit hesitant, why? Is it because of his spell card perhaps?" he continued thinking, while Jill simply smirked at Rafael.

"So Rafael, you ready to leave this warming up behind?" asked Jill, to which Rafael simply nodded while smiling too "Then let's get going to the next level! I summon **Ike, Brave Mercenary**!" shouted Jill.

Watching the duel, Crow got really eager, while Jack was getting frustrated "Yeah, this is going to end already!" said Crow smiling.

"That blue haired warrior…this only means one thing to her…" he said, teeth gritting as he faced said warrior and lost previously.

"She's readying a finale." said both Yusei and Sara, as Jill's warrior appeared; a young blue haired man, wearing a blue jacket and white pants, with a red cape and a brown shoulder plate, having a green headband and gauntlets, while swinging a medium sized sword.

"I introduce you, to a heavy hitter of this Deck, **Ike, Brave Mercenary**." Said Jill as the blue haired warrior swung his sword, aiming at Rafael's side, having 1300 Atk points and 1200 Def points, being an Earth warrior monster "This card receives a boost of 300 points for each warrior in my side of the field, increasing his power to 2200 points!"

"Now that's trusting in your team mates." said Rafael, as he felt that Ike could easily outmatch him any minute now.

Jill then took one more card while smiling "It's time to gear up then."

* * *

><p>"WAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIT!" shouted a male's voice, as everyone turned over to the house's entrance, as Jaden was gasping for air, with Alexis walking behind him "Don't make…any other move!" he then took some breaths, as everyone looked confused as why he stopped the duel. Once he had calmed down, he simply smiled "Now you continue, I want to see the end of this duel!" he said, as everyone fell backwards surprised he did all that to get to the duel in time.<p>

"You can't be serious, right?" asked Sara a bit confused "He stopped the duel…to get a chance to see the end?"

Alexis sighed, embarrassed of the moment "Yeah, he did." She replied blushing "The truth is we were heading here, but Jaden suddenly asked me to go faster as he had a feeling an important duel was taking place here. I'm sorry about that."

"He has a sixth sense for duels…" said Yusei, also surprised of Jaden's actions and a bit surprised too.

"Well then." Said Jill, readying her move again "I guess it's time we get serious! I activate the Spell Card **Gearing up for Battle**!" a card with the image of an equipment seller handing over weapons and gear to soldiers appeared "This card allows me to add an equipment Spell card from my Deck to my Hand." She then picked her card, shuffling her deck and adding it to her hand "And it will be the seal of my victory, **Holy Sword-Ragnell**! I equip it to Ike!" she said, as Ike's sword suddenly disappeared, with Ike grabbing a two-handed yellow-golden sword with his right hand easily; Ike's power increase by 800 points, now packing 3000 Atk points.

"Here it comes…" said Jack angered, as he had seen that move before in his duel against Jill.

"Now, by tributing Ike while equipped with Ragnell, I can Special Summon one of my strongest cards! Class Change!" she said, as a beam of light surrounded Ike "From a land scarred by war and mistrust, a hero that fights for justice shall rise!" the beam of light began fading, as the silhouette revealed seemed like an older and taller Ike "Come forth **Ike, Hero of Tellius**!" added Jill, as this time around, Ike appeared wearing a brown jacket, white pants and brown boots; using a left shoulder blue armor plate and on his feet, as well as a red cape and his green band on his head, wielding the powerful Ragnell sword still with one hand. With an Atk of 3300, Def of 2500, an Earth attribute warrior monster, it would be a powerful obstacle to take care of.

"So that's Ike, the Hero of Tellius huh?" asked Rafael while smiling "This will be a battle to remember for sure. This Deck didn't even disappoint me after all."

"I'm glad to hear that." Replied Jill "Even if I had little time after dueling Yusei, I managed to make some tune ups in this deck and mine, combining only the best cards of both, but keeping most of my mother's cards."

"I can see that." replied Rafael "Putting that aside, I won't fall down easily! I still have plenty of fight to give!"

"I can say the same about me!" replied Jill smiling, as the duel got to a higher level "First things first, this Ike receives a 200 boost for every warrior or spellcaster on the entire field and graveyard!"

"That means that Rafael's warriors will also strengthen Jill's monster." Said Sara, as Ike's power increased by 2000, reaching 5300 "This will be quite a trouble for you now, don't you think?" Rafael remained silent, as Ike pointed Ragnell against him "Go Ike! Take out his Assassin!"

In a swift movement, Ike swung his sword, as it sent a magical bluish wave against Rafael's Dragoon "I activate my spell in the graveyard! This time I'm removing Kaibaman!" said Rafael, as the spirit of Kaibaman appeared on the field, protecting Rafael's field from Ike's attack.

"Well, that's all for this turn." Said Jill, as Kabiaman's spirit glowed, taking away 150 LP of Rafael, as well as 200 of Ike's Atk "I see, so you removed him now to weaken Ike just a little bit. You sure that will be enough?"

"For now, perhaps." said Rafael smiling "For later on, I'm not quite sure, but I won't let this duel end so easily."

"I'll end then. This is your last turn, it seems." Said Jill smiling, while Rafael looked rather calmed for the situation he was in.

"That attack left Rafael in a tough situation, he has to think fast to defeat Ike this turn." Said Yusei, as Rafael was readying up his movement, to which Sara smiled "is something the matter Sara?"

"I think he has readied the move already." She replied, as Rafael started his turn.

"How is that? Beating a heavy hitter like Ike won't be easy, even for Yusei and we saw it." Added Crow, defending his friend.

**Jill 3900 LP, Hand 1; Rafael 4600 LP, Hand 4**

"You know Jill, Ike can be fierce indeed, but there is just one slight weakness he has." said Rafael, picking his card.

"And what is it?" asked Jill curious.

"He can't negate spell cards like this! I activate the Forbidden Lance spell card, targeting Ike!" shouted Rafael as a strange aura surrounded Ike.

"No this can't be!" replied Jill, as Ike's points were reduced to 3700 points.

"Any monster targeted by this quick play spell gets its effect negated until the end of this turn, as well as a 400 Atk bonus." Said Rafael smiling "But that's the beginning, I'll summon now **Dragoon Apprentice**!" he added, as the young male fighter appeared, wielding his sword and dragon armor, packing 900 Atk and Def points "Next his effect activates, allowing me to bring a level 4 dragon or warrior from my hand or graveyard. I choose **Dragoon Illusionist**!" added Rafael, as a dragon humanoid appeared, wearing gray colored mage clothes, a level 4 dragon monster with 500 Atk and Def points.

"Why would you bring weak monsters?" asked Jill curious, until it hit her "Wait, you're going to Synchro Summon your ace, right?"

"If Rafael brings that Dragoon…" said Yusei, knowing the power that card wielded.

"The duel is pretty much over now." said Jack, knowing that Jill would have trouble fighting this dragoon.

"First I activate my Illusionits' effect, risking my turn on that!" added Rafael, as the Illusionist dragoon began chanting a spell, with an aura surrounding it "By sending the top card of my Deck, I can activate a corresponding effect. If it's a Spell card, I can activate it from my Graveyard; if it's a trap, I can draw a card; and if it's a monster, I can target a monster I control and match its level with the card I sent to the graveyard. Go Illusionist, Chanting of Power!" ordered Rafael, as the Illusionist finished its chant, with a card's image appearing before them, which turned out to be Blizzard Dragon "Great! Now I turn my Apprentice into a level 4 monster!"

"Now that was really lucky." Said Alexis, surprised by the move of Rafael "I thought he disliked those cards."

"Well, if it keeps the Dragoon theme it works for him most of the time." said Sara serious "It's just like Jaden's heroes, he and Jaden are pretty similar."

"Way to go Rafael!" cheered Jaden, as the apprentice turned level 4, transforming into 4 energy rings that surrounded the Illusionist.

"Now I tune up my apprentice with Illusionist! To protect justice and hope! Knight and paladin that fights bravely for life, lend me your strength! Blazing force and heart of a hero!" a bright beam of light glowed through the rings "Synchro Summon! Fly into the sky, **Dragon Lord-Dragoon Knight Lord**!" a silver armored human wearing a dragon helmet, with dragon wings on its back appeared, irradiating a bright aura, having an original Atk and Def of 2500 but then becoming "My Dragoon gains 300 Atk points for each dragon and warrior in my graveyard, next I remove my Apprentice from play to neutralize Ike! This game's ours Knight Lord, attack!"

The Dragoon's fist then began harnessing fire, as Ike's power left him "Fiery Dragon Fist!" ordered Rafael, as his dragon rushed to attack Ike.

"If Jill can't counter that move, that's pretty much the end of the duel!" said Yusei, as Crow looked somewhat worried of Jill.

"It was a nice duel Rafael, but I believe it will end now!" replied Jill, as her trap card got revealed.

"Sorry, but my Dragoon can't be destroyed by card effects." said Rafael, confident of his victory.

"It won't destroy your monster. In fact, Ike will be the target of **Power of the Emblem**!" said Jill, as Ike got surrounded by a blue fire-like aura, emanated by the card with the image of an old looking emblem with a blue flame around it "This card increases Ike's power by the highest Atk you control!" said Jill, as Ike quickly swung his sword to block Dragoon Knight Lord's attack, but then getting serious "And when Ike is destroyed, we both lose LP equal to double the attack power he had, in this case…"

"Since my Dragoon has 3100, we'll both lose 6200 LP." Said Rafael surprised, as the energy released by the clash of Ike's sword, Ragnell, reacted to the fist of Dragoon Knight Lord, until an explosion destroyed them both.

* * *

><p>As the explosion cleared, both Jill and Rafael stood there, with their LP counters dropping to 0, as the duel ended "Now that's an explosive duel, huh?" asked Rafael after enjoying the great duel.<p>

"Yeah…" said Jill serious, but then laughing about it "I don't think I've ever had such an amazing duel before; your Dragoons are indeed what Yusei thought of them after all." She said, walking towards Rafael and hoping to shake hands "I enjoyed this duel quite a lot, I never thought it would end in a draw."

Rafael shook hands with her, smiling quite satisfied "Yep, nothing like a great duel. You're something indeed Jill."

"Wait, so that's just it?" asked Jaden, surprised "Oh man, I missed most of the action then."

"Don't worry Jaden, the duel was pretty even anyways." Said Rafael comforting his friend.

"Yeah, especially when Jill defeated Blue Eyes on the next turn you summoned it, as well as having you against the ropes." Said Sara, teasing Rafael as it worked out, Rafael fell backwards from that comment of hers, standing up right away and embarrassed.

"Hey, her cards took me by surprise, give me some credit Sara." He replied, answering to her taunt, Rafael then recalled his calmness, as Mina approached him "Anyways, Jill, congratulation on using your mother's deck. It seems you know how to fully use it."

Jill then took her cards from her deck, looking as if she would hand them to Rafael "Here they are. If these are cards used by Paladins you can take them, they belong to you."

Everyone watched closely, especially Crow who was quite surprised of what Jill was doing "Are you sure about this Jill?" asked Rafael, to which Jill shuddered a bit, but nodded.

"I still have a lot to learn before using my mother's legacy. I'll train to be worthy of it, one day." She replied, as Rafael understood what she meant.

"Hey wait, you can simply hand it over right?" asked Crow worried.

"Crow, this is for the best." Replied Jill, looking rather down, obviously "It's okay, when I've learned more I'll get them back."

Mina turned to Rafael, thinking what he would do. Rafael simply took Jill's deck to most surprise, but then simply picked one random card and giving it to Jill "Here, take this card." He said, catching her off-guard "Take it; I want you to try something."

Jill took the card, trying to peek at it "No peeking Jill." Stated Rafael, as Jill kept it face down on her hand "Now, try to think of your mother. The slightest memory you have of her works, but try your best to imagine her face in your mind."

Jill closed her eyes, as she started to see her mother's face "O-okay, done."

"Now, clear your mind and focus on her. You will eventually get to hear something." Added Rafael, as Jill continued doing the exercise. Jill got a bit frustrated after some time, unable to hear anything until…

"_This deck, it wasn't built only to face those fiends. It was built to leave a message to my daughter.__**"**_Said a female voice, which Jill somehow identified "Mother?" she thought "_This deck will one day pass to my daughter, Jill. It won't be a dueling deck only, but also the link we'll share both of us, to communicate in case…I have to leave." _Jill continued listening carefully, as she felt her emotions getting over her, in her mind then feeling a hand on her shoulder.

Jill opened her eyes, to see the spirit of her mother, right in front of her "Mom…" she said, with tears forming in her eyes.

"Jill, I'm proud of the woman you're turning." She said, as Jill got grasp of her hand "I'll always remain by your side my daughter, you can count on that." added her mother's spirit, as daughter and mother shared a hug.

After that, Jill opened her eyes, a tear rolling through her cheek as Rafael had flipped the card picked. Of all the cards on her deck, it turned out to be her mother's favorite card, **Jill, Mistress of Wyverns**. "Jill, it is true this deck was developed by Pegasus for the Paladins." said Rafael, shuffling the deck again "However it would be foolish to look for an owner. It has chosen you as the only duelist capable of understanding and using its powers."

"What do you mean with that?" asked Jill a bit confused, wiping out her tears.

"I was to look for that deck recently, recalling a promise I made Pegasus some time ago." said Rafael looking a bit serious "He feared that the Fire Emblem deck could fall in bad hands, since the Deck is not ordinary; but also because this deck serves as a special bond between people who have used it before; in this case, you and your mother." He then handed it back to Jill, as she looked happy with the deck again "Take care of that deck Jill."

"I will, I promise it!" She replied, smiling eagerly, as she stared at her card "Mom, I'll do my best to become a Paladin like you were." She said to herself in thoughts.

"Yusei, after this duel, I forgot I came here regarding something else too." Added Rafael, as Yusei got close to him and Mina, accompanied by Jack and Sara "Regarding the last stage of construction, there shouldn't be any problems now. Everything is clear ahead."

"Right, we noticed it today." added Yusei "We've gearing up the last things. If we're lucky, the bridge could be finished in two weeks, tanks to Sara's support."

"Then Mr. Goodwin's dream will be finally complete." Said Mina, relieved "And how about that other project?"

"We're also getting it done." Added Sara smiling "I asked dad to help us on that, the roads for Turbo Duels in the city are being geared up, on the meantime we are building a map for the routes."

"Those are good news…" said Rafael quite surprised "At least on that side, it appears the road ahead is clear, for now."

"Let's hope it stays that way for some time." added Mina, having a bad feeling "Rafael, I'll be heading back to the city soon; do you want to come?"

"I'll be with you in a moment." He added, as Mina left; Yusei and Jack also returned with the group, while Sara and Rafael were alone, looking at Yusei's group "It sure is odd, right?" he asked to Sara "How things are unfolding now."

"Kind of, but it's not that different when we dealt with this on our own." replied Sara smiling "I guess things change every now and then."

"Well, I better leave now. I've still got a good load of paperwork back in the city." He said, turning around "Oh, almost forgot it, why don't you ask Yusei out?" he said, teasing Sara as she blushed.

"C-come on!" replied Sara shouting at Rafael "It's not like…I mean…" Sara simply realized she had fell to Rafael's taunt, as he simply chuckled, getting away before she tried to hit him with something.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Cards of the Day:<strong>_

**Ike, Brave Mercenary; Lv 4, Earth Attribute, Effect Warrior type Monster, Mercenary; Atk 1300, Def 1200  
><strong>This card gains 300 Atk points for each other Warrior and Spellcaster type monster on your side of the field. This card can attack twice this turn. If this card is destroyed in battle, add any card from your Deck to your Hand.

**Holy Sword-Ragnell; Equip Spell Card  
><strong>This card can only be equipped to a monster with 'Ike' in its name. The equipped monster gains 800 Atk and Def points. Once per turn, if the equipped monster would be destroyed in battle, it is not.

**Ike, Hero of Tellius; Lv 10, Earth Attribute, Effect Warrior type Monster, Hero; Atk 3300, Def 2500  
><strong>This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned by tributing 'Ike, Brave Mercenary' while equipped with 'Holy Sword-Ragnell'. This card gains 300 points for each Warrior and Spellcaster monster in your side of the field and Graveyard. This card can attack all of your opponent's monsters, one at a time. If this card is destroyed in battle, select any monster in your Graveyard and any Spell card; add them to your Hand.

**Power of the Emblem (image of a warrior being covered by blue flames, as the Fire Emblem, a metallic medallion, released those flames)  
><strong>Activate this card when your opponent declares an Atk. Target 1 face up monster you control, increase its Atk by the attack of your opponent's attacking monster. If the monster you selected is destroyed in battle, inflict its Atk points as Battle Damage to both players.

**Dragoon Apprentice; Effect Tuner Monster; Dragon, Level 2; Atk 900, Def 900; Earth Attribute**

When this card is successfully summoned, you can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Dragon or Warrior-type monster from your hand or graveyard.

**Dragoon Illusionist; Lv 4, Dark Attribute, Spellcaster type Monster; Atk 500, Def 500  
><strong>Once per turn, you can send the top card in your Deck to the graveyard, activate the corresponding effect, depending on the card sent:  
>-Spell: You can activate its effect until the End Phase of this turn.<br>-Trap: You can draw 1 card from your Deck.  
>-Monster: You can treat the level of one monster you control as the level of the monster.<p>

**Dragon Lord-Dragoon Knight Lord, Effect synchro Monster; Dragon Type monster, Level 8; Atk 2500, Def 2500; Light Attribute**

1 Dragoon Tuner monster+1 or more non-Tuner monsters.

This card is treated as a Warrior-type monster too. For each Dragon and Warrior type monster in your graveyard, this card gains 300 Atk points. Once per turn, you can select a monster your opponent controls and remove a Dragon or Warrior Type monster from your graveyard. Until the End Phase of this your opponent's turn, that monster's effect is cancelled and its Atk is reduced to 0. This card cannot be destroyed by your opponent's effects.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's pretty much everything guys. Sorry for the long wait, heh, my memory tricked me into believing I updated it until DK15 told me I hadn't update this one; I checked it from the beginning, for the next chapter and I realized I hadn't uploaded this chapter crazy and funny (let this embarrassing mistake of mine serve for other authors). So, hope you guys like this chapter. I really need to fix Jill's deck, as it was my major problem in this chapter, regarding the Fire Emblem themed Deck. Anyways, there you go, until next time guys and sorry for the long wait...yet again.<br>**


	8. Episode 8: The Driver's Test

**Hey guys, long time no see; I know, being in vacations I should have time to write, but when that's the case I have no inspiration and well, you can infer the rest.**

**Anyways, I want to thank first DragonKnight15 for the promotion of my story yet again, I will owe him always so no problem on promoting his. Dragon Knight Reborn is one of the best fanfics I've ever read around here, Yugi uncovers the legacy his father left for him and now is in his hands to defeat the darkness that threatens the world…but not alone, as a Hyper active ninja, a substitute Shinigami, a blue hedgehog, the ghost boy, and the cat-girl heroine of Tokyo, will be there for him to keep going forward. A nice story to read, I can tell you that.**

**Well, onwards with today's episode then! Hope you like it.  
><strong>

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><p>It's just another day in New Domino City. In total, 6 months have passed since the battle against the Earthbound Gods. The construction of the bridge connecting New Domino City and Satellite was in its final stage, as Yusei saw what they had been able to complete so far, smiling upon the almost complete bridge; he then left the construction site, returning to his home in the Satellite.<p>

Back in Martha's orphanage "Mrs. Martha, do you need anything from the convenience store?" asked Sara, getting a jacket to leave on her Duel Runner for the store, as Martha came from the kitchen.

"Mmmm not that I remember." She replied then smiling "But come on Sara, you can call me Martha, no need for formalities." Jill then appeared behind Martha.

"Mom, we do need some things." She said, worried about the dinner "We ran out of meat and spices already."

"Oh, that's right." Said Martha agreeing with her adopted daughter "Sara, do you think you could get us a few spices and meat?"

"Of course, no problem." Replied Sara vowing down as Martha giggled a bit.

"Thank you, but I already told you to not be so formal." Said Martha smiling "I see that Yusei has got a pretty polite and educated woman now, I would be honored if you two ever dated or became a couple."

Upon hearing that Sara simply blushed, trying to convince Martha that she and Yusei were only friends.

A Duel Runer's engine then was heard coming closer, as it then shut down, someone walking towards the house "Martha, I'm back." Said Yusei, entering the home with a few letters they had received "Hi Sara, where are you going?" asked Yusei, noting Sara was about to leave.

"I'm going to do some errands, I'll be coming right away." She said putting on her helmet and heading out until Yusei stopped her.

"Sara, wait, there's something for you in today's mail." said Yusei, handing her a letter from the USA, as Sara opened it and began reading it. As she reached the last words of it, she then got really surprised of what it asked of her.

"It can't be!" she shouted to the surprise of Yusei, Jill, and Martha, worrying them until "My driver's permission has expired already?" that said, Yusei and company got a bit calm now, while Sara was still shocked of it.

* * *

><p><strong>Sara: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light, Episode 8 – Sara's Challenge; the Driver's Test!<br>LightLord92: …I lost my job here today.**

* * *

><p>"It can't be; my driver's permission has already expired?" asked Sara, dropping to the ground disappointed "Bu I asked for the one that lasts about 6 months…plus Alan knew he had to ask for the permission to be extended."<p>

Yusei then started making counts, it turned out that she actually spent 6 months in the city "Well, the time did run up. When you guys and I met for the first time was that much ago." Said Yusei which made Sara drop her head by her mistake.

"My brother surely forgot to ask for the time extension…" she said getting down.

"Why don't you apply to get a driving license here?" asked Jill, until she thought of something better "Better, why don't you ask Rafael to get you one? Being Director of Sector Security, he could help you out."

"I don't want to disturb him with that at the moment." replied Sara, standing up again, while thinking "Plus, I want to get it on my own, so I think I'll have to apply for it after all." She then got a bit nervous "Wait, but it is in New Domino City right, at the Duel Academy?"

"Yep." Replied Yusei smiling "It won't be that difficult, you have already used Duel Runners, know how to drive them. You don't have to start from a scratch there."

Sara then gave it a thought, sighing after a moment "Right, let's get going to business then, shall we?"

"But first" said Martha stopping them from getting out "You guys will need to eat something. And I still need the spices and meat."

"Oh right, I'll get them then." Said Yusei, handing over the other letters to Jill "Sara, care to come with me?" Sara then blushed a bit, nodding as she and Yusei left.

Jill and Martha simply giggled "Do you think they do make a good couple mom?" asked Jill curious, as they were heading back to the kitchen.

"Well, they do seem to like each other, but it's up to them." replied Martha.

Heading to Satellite's downtown, activity was as usual nowadays. Sara was sitting right behind Yusei in his runner, as they were driving at a moderate speed "We're almost there." Said Yusei, as they were reaching a store by the end of the street they were driving through.

They stopped right in front of the entrance, as Yusei and Sara got on their feet, taking off their helmets "I'll be getting the things Martha needed." He then pointed at a building in front of them "Sara, you can go there and ask about the driver's license appliance." Sara turned to the building Yusei pointed at, noting it was one of Sector Security's buildings in Satellite.

"Okay, I'll meet you here in a moment then." said Sara, heading towards the building while Yusei got in the store.

Sara got inside the building, it was quite high-tech for even being in Satellite. There were a few officers here and there, moving around with a lot of paperwork and also readying things for another of the projects Rafael had taken from Director Goodwin "This is it, when the Director gives the order, we'll be remodeling all of Satellite." said an officer to his subordinates.

Sara then moved the reception, where a man was making paperwork "Excuse me, could you help me?" asked Sara catching the man's attention.

"Hello, welcome to Sector Security's new HQ in Satellite." Replied the man smiling "What can I help you with miss?"

"I was hoping you could tell me what I should do to apply for the Duel Runner's license." Replied Sara, as the man began looking for some papers and looking for info in his computer.

"Let me see…may I have your name?" asked the man.

"Sara." She replied; the man then typed the name and waited for any results to show up.

"Very well, here it says that you asked for a driving permission in the USA and presented it to Director Goodwin when coming to New Domino City." He then took away the paperwork he had "Plus, you have your license of the USA, the only thing you should do right now is apply the exams in New Domino City's branch." He replied, handing over a sheet of paper to Sara "With that, they'll know you will only apply for the driving and Turbo Dueling exams, not the studying courses. Good luck miss." Replied the man, as Sara vowed and left the building.

* * *

><p>Later back at Martha's house after the errand, Sara was reading the descriptions of the exams she would take while Yusei, Crow, Jack, the kids, Jill, and Martha were having dinner. Yusei turned to her, noting she was still focused on the papers "Hey Yusei." Said Martha, catching the Turbo Duelists attention "Sara has been reading for hours now, take her this." She said, handing Yusei a dish of the dinner "She must be hungry. And try to help her, it seems she's having some rough time for some reason." Yusei nodded, standing up as he had finished his own and taking Sara's to her.<p>

"Hey Sara, do you have a moment?" asked Yusei to Sara, as she snapped out of the paper and her deck.

"Umm, sure Yusei." replied Sara, making some space for Yusei to sit, as he did beside her.

"Take, Martha sends this to you." said Yusei handing her over the dinner.

"Oh right! I got so into the descriptions of the exams and tuning my deck that I forgot dinner, I'm sorry." She said taking the dish and starting to eat calmly "Wow, it tastes really great! Martha and Jill sure are a great team."

"Hehe, thanks Sara, glad you liked it." Said Jill, as she and Crow were walking towards them "So, how's the studying going?"

Sara then turned a bit serious, sighing "Well, it appears I won't be presenting a written exam for some reason. Since I have a license back in home, they told me I had to present two exams." She said, showing them the papers "A simple driving test, with obstacles and the usual; and a Turbo Duel exam against the instructor in turn available."

"Well, that's pretty easy then." said Crow smiling "When I applied for mine it was way too difficult, since well, we couldn't have Duel Runners in here. Plus, the instructor was a…"

"Calm down Crow, we all know that story." Added Jill "But why do you worry Sara? I haven't seen you Turbo Dueling, but I heard from Yusei you are a very skilled duelist."

"Well, the problem is my deck." replied Sara a bit disappointed "My deck focuses too much on spells, for me to get Spell Counters and disabling my opponent a bit. Technically speaking, Speed World will be active in the duel, but there won't be restrictions on Spell cards…however the instructor is allowed to change that part if they want to, forcing a real Turbo Duel."

"Well, then we have some work to do then." said Yusei smiling, as Sara turned to her "We can help you out with that. Building a Turbo Deck with Spell Counters can prove a challenge, but it's not impossible."

"Thanks Yusei, I will really owe you guys for this." replied Sara cheering up and standing "Right, then let's being with it!"

"Wouldn't it be better if you finished having dinner first?" asked Crow surprised Sara got energy all of the sudden, having eaten barely half of the dish.

After dinner, Yusei, Sara, and Jill were still in the dining room, working on Sara's new deck. Yusei knew very well the kind of moves Sara liked and mastered to pull, so he sticks to keep the key cards she may need for her ace strategies. Jill on the other hand, was trying to see which Speed Spells could prove more useful for Sara, aiding her to keep easy to use Speed Spells and even a few strong ones; Sara on the other hand kept reviewing her best combos that involved as few spells as possible to make things go faster.

As the clock hit 12 of midnight, Jill was already sleeping on the table, while Sara was yawning from fatigue, while Yusei was alright "Sara" he said, putting his hand in Sara's shoulder "you need to rest, tomorrow we will make a test ride and then, if you feel like it and have the energy, we can go apply for the exams."

Sara then nodded, standing up barely "Thanks Yusei…should we…leave Jill here…?" she asked all sleepy, as they turned to her, noting she was sleeping quite well.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine here." Said Yusei, helping Sara to stand up "Come, I'll take you to your room so you can rest." Yusei then got her upstairs somehow, since Sara was falling asleep now, mumbling things of what seemed to be a theory exam which she never mentioned. Once Yusei got her to the room, he simply looked her, amazed by the determination she showed in a single day. AS he was leaving Jill was walking to her room, the one Yusei just left Sara in, which they shared while Sara was helping Yusei.

* * *

><p>The next day arrived, as Yusei, Sara, Crow and Jill were already heading to New Domino City's Duel Academy, for Sara to apply for her license. Once inside the Academy's facilities, Yusei, Crow and Jill were waiting for Sara outside the building where she was going to take a theory exam. They knew the exam started at 1 pm, but it was quite a surprise when at 1:30 Sara joined them, saying she had finished the exam.<p>

"Wait, 30 minutes to finish the exam?" shouted Crow shocked by Sara's speed, to which she simply giggled a bit "Come on, are you some kind of brainy or something like that?"

"Well, we've got some spare time to keep working in your deck if you want to." said Yusei. Sara gave it a thought, closing her eyes to think it thoroughly.

"Yes, let's ready the final details." Replied Sara.

With that, the small group started checking once again Sara's Turbo Deck cards, fixing the last details of it while having a little snack near the Academy's dining room. They were focused on it, until someone arrived "Yusei, Sara, what a surprise to see you guys here!" said a female voice they knew very well.

Turning around, they saw Akiza in her Academy's uniform heading towards them "Akiza, hello." said Sara smiling.

"How you doing Aki?" asked Yusei greeting his frien.

"I'm doing quite fine, school day is almost over so I have some free time right now." Answered Akiza, turning to what was in the table and greeting Crow and Jill too "Hi Crow and Jill!"

"Hi Akiza, good to see you." Replied Jill

"Hey Aki, do you know how difficult exams are around here? In your opinion?" asked Crow, making Jill lower her head as she knew he was going to tease Sara a bit.

Aki gave it a moment to think, she hasn't been around for that much time to know a real answer "Well, I'll say they are quite difficult in most cases, but with enough time spent readying, they are pretty easy." Replied Aki "Now if you're talking about the driver license, they are quite strict, at least that's what people say."

Crow was astonished now, Sara looked really confident she had aced the exam which indeed proved his point of her been quite smart "You didn't use your powers right?"

"Teehee, no crow I didn't." replied Sara giggling as Crow was now pretty much amazed.

"Anyways, so you applied for a license Sara?" asked Akiza taking a seat.

"Yeah, now comes the driving exam or the Turbo Duel exam." Replied Sara eagerly "I'm anxious right now, can't wait to see what will happen now."

"Attention please." said a voice through the loudspeakers in the buildings "The last exam for the driver license has been chosen. All applicants should ready a Turbo Duel Deck and gear up, the exam will begin in 30 minutes."

Sara then smirked surprised "Well, it seems a Turbo Duel will be." She said standing up "Well guys, thanks to all of you for your help." She said vowing "I got to get ready for this one, wish me luck!" she added, running towards the Turbo Duel track field and pushing a button on her watch.

"Well, we better get going then." said Yusei standing up "Let's get some seats for the exam."

"Right Yusei but…" said Akiza concerned "Isn't she supposed to bring her runner?"

Yusei turned to Sara, knowing that maybe she had the same controller Rafael had on his own runner "Don't worry; I'm sure she will handle it nicely."

"In that case, let's get going." Said Akiza smiling "The seats will be taken quickly, I can assure you that." That said, the group headed to the track field.

* * *

><p>Once there, they noted a Turbo Duel was already on its way, a young man was on his license exam and wasn't faring quite well by now, the instructor had quite the advantage in LP doubling the applicant's and also controlling the field with a monster that Yusei had seen somewhere before, Montage Dragon.<p>

"I've got a feeling of knowing that instructor." Said Yusei, turning to the instructor's Duel Runner. It was a Sector Security standard runner, riding it was none other than Trudge himself, making the last move of the duel and taking out the applicant with ease.

"Ouch, that must have hurt." Said Yusei surprised "Trudge is as strong as he was in Satellite here."

"Do you think Sara will be capable of handling him?" asked Akiza concerned of her friend. Yusei simply smirked.

"She will; no doubt about it." replied Yusei confident enough.

"Hey Akiza and company, you guys watching the license exams?" asked a female voice behind them. Akiza turned back to see Mei and Sakura waving their hands at the group "Why don't you have a seat here? They say a prodigy is the next one." said Mei, the black haired student.

"That's right. Of all the applicants, she was the only one that got a perfect score in the exam." Added Sakura, the red haired student, to which the group knew who they were talking about.

Trudge was in the arena, noting some grades from the duel with the young man "Well, summing up your grades of the exam with my grade of the Turbo Duel, you barely passed." He said smilin, handing the kid a paper in which he was stating he was ready to get his license "Nice moves there, you managed your Speed Spells with enough caution and even worked out my lock-down. If not for Montage Dragon, the duel could have ended differently."

"Thanks sensei." replied the student vowing respectfully. He then left, taking his runner out of the track field.

"Very well, tell the next one to get ready." Said Trudge, as he got on his runner and returned to the starting point of the track, waiting for the next applicant to appear.

Right away, a red colored Duel Runner and a pair of wings in the back part was driven to the track field, with a woman in a white riding suit; it was Sara. In the ladders Yusei and company were surprised Sara had a riding suit, they thought she was going to wear her usual clothes. Sara turned to them, still riding her runner and waved them hi.

* * *

><p>"That suit…where did she got one?" asked Crow surprised but obviously not wanting Jill to know he was surprised of how Sara looked on it, while Yusei was blushing too "Yusei? You know something right?"<p>

"Ummm, I…don't."

"You do, what is it?" asked Akiza, teasing him a bit.

"It's quite simple guys." said Jill smirking, also joining the teasing of Yusei "He got it for her, rght Yusei?" Yusei simply whistled and turned around; evading the topic "Awww, isn't that just cute?" added Crow. Yusei then turned to the duel field, thinking a bit "Sara, why did you decided to use it right now?" he asked to himself, but then calming down "But it does fit her well.

"So, you ready for the Turbo Duel, Mrs. Sara?" asked Trudge to Sara.

"Of course I am, I'm completely sure of it." Replied Sara, putting her helmet on.

"Alright then." Said Trudge, pushing a button on his runner.

_Duel mode, engaged. Auto pilot, Standing by._

"The rules are simple Mr.s Sara. The duel will be held in this track which will test your handling of the Duel Runner. That involves accelerating, the speed management, and your capacity of focusing in the duel too." Said Trudge confident "Based on your performance, after the duel I'll tell you if you get the license or not, summing up the theory grade." He then pointed at her "Beating me won't be easy, but if you manage to do it, those are extra points! And also, defeating me won't assure you the license, got it?"

"Roger that." Replied Sara anxious "_This will be the first time I use this in a Turbo Duel…I hope I do it well."_ She thought to herself.

_Ready, Set, Go._

With that mark, both runners charged ahead, the crowd gathered in the seats standing up in amazement "The first one to take the curve gets the first turn!" shouted Trudge, as he was about to take it "It is mine!" he shouted, until Sara's runner then accelerated and breaking just enough for Sara to take the curve, she took the advantage, surprising Trudge on such a maneuver "How did you do that?"

Sara winked her eye, taking the card for the duel to start.

**Sara, Hand 6, SC-0, LP 4000; Trudge, Hand 5, SC-0, LP 4000**

"Here I go!" said Sara checking her hand "First I'll set up 2 cards face down." Two cards appeared at her sides, disappearing then "After that, I'll summon Defender, the magical Knight to the field!" she said, as the blue armored knight appeared in the field, taking defensive positions and the red orb shining "When summoned, I set a Spell Counter on him. That's all." Said Sara, ending her turn.

"Well, that's quite a good start if you ask me." Said Jill surprised "But who knew she could drive like that! Taking the curve the way she did, it's almost as if she was a natural at this!"

"Did you train her or anything Yusei?" asked Akiza wondering, to which Yusei shook her head.

"No, we didn't have time for that." replied Yusei "She informed herself yesterday and well, here we are. But you're right; she does have a gift to do that so easily."

**Sara, Hand 3, SC-1, LP 4000; Trudge, Hand 6, SC-1, LP 4000**

"Well, you got lucky with that movement back there, but time for some reality now!" said Trudge, taking his card and smiling "This will be perfect for that, I discard three cards to Special Summon Montage Dragon to the field!" said Trudge, as the blue colored three headed dragon appeared in the field, roaring fiercely while Sara looked back at it "I discarded 2 Stygian Street Patrol and a Handcuff Dragon, that's a total of 13 stars, which means Montage Dragon's attack is 3900! Go Montage Dragon, take down that knight!" ordered Trudge, as his dragon launched a powerful fire ball at Sara's monster.

"I'll remove Defender's Spell Counter! That way, my Defender won't be destroyed this turn." Countered Sara, as her knight survived the fire attack and Defender's shield orb turned off.

"Interesting, but not enough." Said Trudge setting 2 cards "That's all for me now. Your move!"

**Sara, Hand 4, SC-2, LP 4000; Trudge, Hand 0, SC-2, LP 4000**

"Here I go." Said Sara, getting her card but feeling something different "_This sensation…what is it?" _she asked herself, turning her sight to the field "_It's like…if the speed was allowing me to release myself and be how I was before…it's simply amazing!_" she then smiled, as she enjoyed the feeling "Right, I'll set another card and then activate Tower of Babel!" said Sara, as a giant tower appeared beside her, on only one floor "With this card in play, each time a spell is activated I place a counter on it. When the fourth one is placed, it will self-destruct and take out 3000 damage points on the player that activated the 4th spell card."

"Heh, interesting concept of using Spell Counters girl." Said Trudge surprised "You're quite brave to do that on a Turbo Due, where most Spell cards are hard to use."

"You think so?" asked Sara confident, which surprised Trudge a bit "Let's put it to test, shall we? I activate the Speed Spell-Overboost, turning my 2 counter on 6." Said Sara, as the Tower of Babel gained another floor "Next, I activate the Sped Spell-Power Baton, sending away from my Deck, Endymion the Master Magician to increase Defender's attack by 2700 points!" Defener's power then increased to 4300 points "I change Defender to attack position and activate my Continuous Trap Card, **Legacy of Magicians**!" shouted Sara, as a card with the image of 5 sages, performing a chant appeared "This trap card has two effects. One is negate Trap or Spell cards effect that affects my Spellcaster monster while there is another Spell Counter on any card save this one." Said that, Trudge got nervous as the Tower of Babel got a 2nd floor by Power Baton "The other one, is to place draw a card for each Spell counter on my field."

"Great, you got over Power Baton's side effect now." Said Trudge, amazed by Sara's quick thinking and strategy now "_This woman…she surely knows what she's doing to perfection, she doesn't doubt or falter…she has the advantage now."_

Yusei simply stared at the duel, noting Sara was cornering Trudge with quite ease. He was left without words of Sara's play by now, even overcoming Power Baton's side effect and gaining power of her Speed Spells.

"Next, I activate my Speed Spell-Angel Baton! With it, I draw 2 cards from my Deck and then I discard one from my hand at the cost of 4 Speed Counters." Said Sara, getting her 2 cards and slowing down her runner, as Trudge was passing her now, she then discarded her card, the tower now gaining another floor and faltering "Now Defender, attack Montage Dragon!" Defender then headed towards Trudge's dragon, slashing its sword through the dragon's rough skin and destroying it with ease as Trudge's LP now decreased by 400 "That's all for now."

Trudge gave it a thought, as he was trying to realize Sara's strategy "Now I see, those were good moves." He said, Sara smiling of that.

"So that's why." said Yusei, understanding Sara's play.

"What is it Yusei?" asked Sakura curious "What is your friend trying to do?"

"She has cornered Trudge. She forces him to first launch an attack before using any Speed Spells that could increase his power." Replied Yusei, as Akiza also saw through it.

"But doing so, Defender will still survive since Sara can remove a counter from her tower and survive. However, that leaves her with no Spells to play next turn." Said Akiza surprised

"That's if…" said Yusei, somehow feeling Sara had the duel won now "she needs one next turn."

**Sara, Hand 1, SC-2, LP 4000; Trudge, Hand 1, SC-3, LP 3600**

"That was well played, but you won't be getting me to use a Speed Spell now." replied Trudge "First I activate Call of the Haunted, allowing me to bring back one Stygian Street Patrol from my Graveyard!" said Trudge as a dark colored motorcycle rider appeared in front of him "Then I summon Stygian Security to the field! Time for some Synchro Summon! I tune up Stygian Security with Street Patrol to bring forth" said Trudge, as the little bat-like fiend turned into an energy ring surrounding the black armored rider "Stygian Sergeants!" said Trudge, as a two headed demon-dragon like creature appeared in the field, riding a motorcycle too "Now Sergeants, attack Defender!"

"I'll take out a counter from my tower to save him!" replied Sara, as a floor of the tower disappeared, with Defender surviving the attack.

"Impressive, you adapt quickly." said Trudge, as both of them reach the goal and continue onwards in the track field "I end my turn now."

**Sara, Hand 1, SC-2, LP 4000; Trudge, Hand 0, SC-2, LP 3600**

"Here I go then!" said Sara getting her card and smiling as she saw it "I'll summon **Lady of Magic** to the field!" she said, as her ace tuner appeared in the field, a blond haired magician with a staff and sacred robes "Time for some tuning!" said Sara, as her magician turned into 3 energy rings surrounding Defender "To protect justice and love! Knight embracing the knowledge of magic appear now! Ray of light and noble hearted knight! Synchro Summon! Come forth, **Magical Rune Knight Ilyan**!" from a beam of light, an armored white haired and a white cape, turning to Trudge's monster.

"That's your ace, right?" asked Trudge surprised to see the shining aura Ilyan showed around her.

"Yep, you'll see why now." Replied Sara, as Ilyan began chanting a spell "By removing from play a spell from my graveyard, your sergeants will be destroyed! Aura Slash!" said Sara, as Ilyan opened her eyes, a white aura harnessing on her sword until it was sent straight against Trduge's monster, destroying it "Then I activate Speed Spell-Silver Contrails, increasing Ilyan's attack by 1000 points for 2 Speed Counters!" her runner then got behind more, as Ilyan's attack was now 3400 points.

"This will hurt a lot." Said Trudge concerned, as Ilyan readied an attack.

"Go Ilyan! Attack with Runesword Strike!" Ilyan jumped in the air, landing near Trudge and striking him with the sword's magic energy, taking out his Speed Counters and most of his LP.

"Great going Sara!" shouted Jill, as the crowd went wild with her marvelous play up to now.

Things for Trudge were completely out of hand. He would have only one card in hand next turn and Sara has enough Spell cards to destroy his defenses anyways. He could do little now "Interesting, it's been a long time since someone gave me a tough fight but…" said Trudge, thinking, as his Runner began slowing down to match Sara's pace now "Sara, that was an excellent movement from you, congratulations." Trudge then suddenly pulled the breaks, as Sara looked surprised, doing the same a bit ahead.

Trudge got down of his runner, as the students looked in confusion "Sara, there's no way I can beat you. Nobody up to now has been able to take me to these limits and yet…" added Trudge, walking towards Sara "you're the first one that has defeated me like this. Congratulations, you passed."

"Officer Trudge, you don't need to forfeit." Replied Sara, asking him to reconsider.

Trudge then went to his runner, taking the card and smiling "You won then. Look." Said Trudge, showing her a Speed Spell "Either way, I was done for already. Congratulations Sara, in all the time I've been here for applicants, you're the first one I have come to pass with honors."

Sara then smiled and began celebrating, knowing she had just got her license "I did it!" she then turned to Yusei and company "Guys! I can get my license now! Thanks to all of you!" All but Yusei started celebrating for Sara's victory. Yusei simply smiled, knowing that a new Turbo Duelist legend was being born in front of his eyes. He then crossed sight with Sara, who looked at him. He then smiled and also began celebrating, which got Sara to blush a bit now.

With the other exams done, Trudge accompanied Sara and Yusei to get her license. Crow and Jill had returned home by now and Akiza went to her last class with her friends. Once Trudge signed a paper, he turned to Sara, handing her something "Congratulations Sara, you're now an official Turbo Duelist."

"Thank you Officer Trudge." Replied Sara vowing down, as she saw her license. She was totally happy that she got hers finally "Look Yusei, I got it because you guys helped me all along."

"No Sara." replied Yusei smiling "It was because of your determination and dedication that you got it." He then reached his hand to her "It appears to me that you're now a fellow Turbo Duelist, right?"

"Of course I am." She replied happily. Both then got on her runners and returned home to Satellite for dinner time.

* * *

><p>Later that night, while everyone in Martha's house was having dinner, Martha appeared with some letters they received in the day "Sara, another letter has arrived for you today."<p>

"Another one? Let me see." She said, opening it as Crow, Jill, and Yusei looked at her. She was ok at the beginning; until she began reading the last parts of the letter "Alan…" she said getting down "How come you forgot it." She said, getting down and hitting her head with the table.

The letter came from Sara's twin brother, Alan. It explained that when he arrived back at the USA, he had completely forgotten to send the paperwork for the license permission extension. He did it and received the new license just now, sending it now to Sara and hoping she didn't do something like get it over in New Domino City. Sara was now embarrassed and complaining of her brother's little incident and how she had to get it on her own, but her own fault of being a bit impatient herself.

"Well…now that's some luck right?" asked Crow trying to cheer Sara up.

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><p><strong>New Cards of the Day:<br>Legacy of Magicians (image of 5 sages casting a spell), Continuous Trap Card  
><strong>Activate this card when there are Spell Counters on your side of the field. If you have Spell Counters in another card that is not 'Legacy of Magicians', Spellcaster type monsters you control are unaffected by your opponent's Trap and Spell Cards. During your Standby Phase, you can draw cards up to the number of Spell Counters you have.

**Lady of Magic; Effect Tuner Monster; Spellcaster, Level 3; Atk 600, Def 1200; Light Attribute  
><strong>Once per turn, you can Special Summon a level 4 spellcaster from your graveyard.

**Magical Rune Knight Ilyan; Effect Synchro Monster; Spellcaster, Level 7; Atk 2400, Def 2200; Light Attribute  
><strong>Lady of Magic+1 or more non-Tuner monsters.  
>Once per turn, you can remove from play a Magic card from your graveyard to destroy a face-up monster your opponent controls. This card is treated as a Warrior type monster too. By discarding a Magic card from your hand, you can destroy a face-down Magic or Trap card your opponent controls. This card cannot be destroyed by your opponent's Spell and Trap cards.<p>

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><p><strong>Well, that's all for now. Don't blame me for the ending, it just popped to me when checking the chapter again. Hope everyone likes it and don't forget to review if you did or didn't! By the way, I'll keep for some time the sneak peeks of the next episode, as I want them to be a surprise until I reach the last part of this volume. I remind you guys, this will be shorter than Darkness Awaken was, just reminding you guys, but it doesn't mean there won't be a lot of action. Until next time!<strong>


	9. Episode 9: Future Ahead

**Ok people, hello again to all of you, it's good to finally come back here, to where I began my interest in writing stories; most of you surely ask yourselves what happened with me, why it took me so long to stand up again and actually update this story with an actual chapter, wondering many things most likely. I myself am well aware that possibly by right now, I don't hold as many fans as I had back in the day when I started this project (most likely, I can't be sure until a bit moves on from this chapter), but well, so long as I can see people enjoying this story, I've come to the conclusion I will enjoy writing this as well; anyways, I won't give an explanation right now, let's go on with today's episode of the Paladins of Light: Eternal Bonds. At the end of this chapter, I'll give a brief explanation to why I had gone inactive for so long. So, onwards with today's episode my friends, hope you enjoy it (sorry, as a heads up today there is no duel, don't hate me for the pairings I'm making so far haha).**

**AUTHOR'S DISCLAIMER: The pairings that will be hinted in this episode are a making of myself, but it is to be known that they won't be the definite shippings/pairings of this story, that's still got a way too long to worry about.**

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><p>A month has passed since Jill found her mother's deck; the working team finally finished building the Daedalus Bridge, along with the beginning of the duel routes along the monument unifying both Satellite and Domino City, the process of evolution and progress in the city was moving smoothly now, acceptance of Satellite citizens, of reconstructing both cities, a brighter future. At the edge of the city, both Rafael and Yusei were staring at it "Finally, his dreams are completed once and for all." Yusei nodded, he was happy for it, but something was troubling his mind, it had been only a few weeks since he had a duel with a mysterious time traveler that stole his Stardust Dragon card, recovering it and finally understanding as well why Jaden and Yugi knew him "Yusei, what do you suppose of this?" asked Rafael, turning back to him, snapping him out of his thoughts at the sky, it was a bit cloudy, wind was blowing in all directions, but calmly and with such a grace, one could find it hard to fly with it, if possible for a human.<p>

Yusei simply smirked turning his sight back at Satellite "Things are sure to become better soon enough then, from now on. We have to make sure of that." He replied determined, his will guiding his words. Rafael couldn't help but smile, turning on his engine once more "Let's go back, we still have business pending am I right?" Rafael nodded smirking, turning his own engine "You're right, I'll see you later, got some pending business in the central for now." With that said Rafael rushed back towards Sector Security's headquarters, thinking of something he himself had told Sara and Alan in the past, when they met for the first "Fight with all your spirit, without giving up; building a brighter future, is in your own hands and decisions."

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><p><strong>Yusei: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's – Paladins of Light: Eternal Bonds; Episode 9 – The Future Ahead!<br>LightLord92: Well, seems I'm back again, with no job announcing the titles, anyways, I'm still back again, let's see how this goes.**

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><p>Arriving at the central, Rafael was greeted with a myriad of many problems, as usual like in his early days as new director; there had been a few reports on unusual activity around the surroundings of the Arcadia's Movement's crumbled headquarters, the software and databases containing all the vital information of every citizen were having problems, as well as the computers freezing up completely in the first floor where they took the calls of citizens reporting problems on their respective neighborhoods, some street lights were not working at all, it was a bit of a pain to be honest, and yet he did all his work with a smile; Mina simply stared at him gently, looking at a new face, or maybe someone totally different to the man she had known when they started working together. It took him some time to get used to it, but finally he had gotten the strings of work as the new Director.<p>

As the afternoon was rolling in, Rafael was sitting checking some more papers Goodwin left for him, explaining the codes and threat levels in the city, until a knock in the door snapped him out of his chores "Come on in." he said, staring at the computer and beginning to do what he seemed to do better, fixing several bugs in the main frame of security in the network, as Mina walked into the office "Hello Mina, welcome, how are you doing?" he asked, finally, finishing his work for the day "Care to take a glass of water or something?"

Mina shook her head in disapproval "No thank you very much Rafael, I mean" she immediately blushed gasping, not realizing she was calling him for his first name yet again, even if he was the highest authority and her new boss in the headquarters "I mean, Director Rafael…"

Rafael smiled while shaking his head "Come on Mina, I told you already, it's ok if you call me by my first name, really." He then walked to the counter table, pouring water in two glasses and giving one of them to Mina "Is it really that embarrassing or difficult to say my name?"

"No, not at all but, well, you're our superior; we have to keep some formality at work." She replied drinking some of the water, feeling comfortable and less nervous than before "Anyways sir, I came here regarding some more duties we still need to check up." She said, loading a file in the main room's projector, as it took digital form "The Facility is still in need of a new chief, since Goodwin fired Chief Armstrong…" she said, as Rafael already knew what was going on in there; she then changed the file, showing off Sayer in the screen, his criminal record "We still have thoughts regarding Sayer; since the Dark Signers returned to normality after they were defeated…"

"There's no reason that Sayer wouldn't show up once more, even if he was swallowed up by one of the Earthbounds." Rafael said, fearing if he did come back, they wouldn't be able to track him down easily, and he would try to get Akiza back once again to her past self.

Mina nodded, still worried of what he could do if he did come back, then another file came up, this time, Reginald's "As you requested, I made a more thorough research regarding Reginald sir, but…" she said looking down and sighing "We haven't located him, anywhere in New Domino or in the world."

Finally, one more file was shown, being a member of the narrow group of Special Forces Investigation, she was taking care of some of Rafael's personal assignments as well, this time, it was regarding any 'unusual' activities in the city "We have found 2 men that are moving throughout the city, they match the description of the two Paladins you named were trying to stall the efforts of the Daedalus Bridge being complete. They are still around."

Rafael crossed his arms, thinking a moment; if all of this was leading to where he thought it was, the city could still be in some trouble after all. Mina felt a bit sorry and worried, Rafael was back to his usual, serious and very quiet; it didn't bother her much, it was her job after all, but she still felt worried and concerned for him "Sir?"

"It's nothing really." He said smiling again, closing the files and taking Mina's papers "I really am grateful you did this for me, I owe you one Mina." He said smiling, this made her giggle a bit and still feel flustered, it was odd to feel this way for him since she never did saw him any other way than a colleague, or maybe a brother, but this was getting confusing for her now, as she still harbored feelings towards Jack.

"Well, maybe you can repay me somehow." She said smiling and giggling a tad mischievously "You are aware of Sector Security's charity ball, am I right Director?" she asked, to which Rafael nodded. Some years ago, before all the mess started and when Goodwin was just starting his career as Director, he had made this charity balls for a way to raise some extra earnings for the most needed and important departments in the entire city, this time the funds would be going for the hospitals and healthcare institutions, but this time the task was harder since it included now Satellite's newest buildings "Well, I was thinking of going for a brief moment this year, so maybe we could meet there?"

Rafael nodded calmly "I would love to go with you, really." He said with arms crossed catching her off-guard "It would be more as a guest, right? I bet I'm not the first option you thought off, but I will be attending." He said trying teasing her a bit, to which Mina blushed lightly and shook her head.

"Thank you, really Director." She replied, having this feeling that Rafael understood how her heart and mind were feeling right now.

"Well then, I think for today, this is as much as we can do." replied Rafael, picking up his coat "I need to see Yusei, we have to discuss a few things still regarding the Turbo Duel routs."

Mina nodded, looking back at him "It's ok; we still have some things to take care with the ball after all." With that said, as Rafael was about to leave she added "Director, can you please come around tomorrow earlier? It would be nice if you were here to look at the last preparations."

"Sure, I'll get here earlier than ever." He added, leaving the room with Mina and bidding farewell for the day once they reached outside to the parking lots.

Rafael was heading for his Duel Runner when a wind current was blowing strong, it felt quite comfortable, and yet he could tell there was something odd about it. In the past, he would have thought about the calm before the storm, it felt like that for sure, things were going quite too well to be true, but it wasn't the time to worry about petty details like those. His friends had helped him earn a new resolve, to worry only when the time needed it. Up on his runner, Rafael headed towards Martha's house to meet with Yusei and Sara, as the sunset was starting.

Moments later on Satellite, at Martha's house, the yard seemed cleaner than before, there wasn't much junk in the surroundings and they had finished remodeling a few parts of the house as well, working on it to become some kind of orphanage and foster home as well. Rafael arrived in time to see Jack facing off once more against Jill, who had a harder time to deal with him. The duel was very even, Jack was down to his last 900 points, in his field only Exploder Dragonwing protecting him without any face-downs; Jills however was stronger, she had her ace Ike already hitting the field, along with Rolf the sniper and Mia readying to strike down Jack's dragon, successfully earning her the victory "Damn it, why can't I still predict that deck of yours?!" shouted Jack frustrated, as it was clear who had won.

Jill sighed, still not believing she was falling for Jack's game and still accepting his rematches, sure though, his deck was stronger, he had won already 3 duels against her, out of 7 though "Jack do you mind if we…" she said yawning and flexing a bit, as she was already feeling tired "take a break please? I'm quite tired already…"

"No, not until I can finish off your" Jack said, as Rafael stopped them a moment laughing out loud.

"Seems you're still stubborn to challenge that deck huh? Well, it won't be easy beating it you know?"

"As if you had won that easily against her, last I recall, you almost got kicked out by her monsters." Replied Jack still serious, then just turning off his duel disk as Jill sighed, sitting down and taking a little nap while laying on the entrance to the house "If you look for Yusei, he's inside working with Sara on something. YUSEI!" he shouted to catch his attention, but more likely, getting it back on Jill as he woke her up.

"Jack, you jerk! I'm trying to get some sleep!" replied Jill angrily, standing up and just heading inside; a few seconds later Yusei and Sara got outside, looking at Rafael.

"Hello there Rafael. You're earlier than I thought." Said Yusei greeting his friend shaking hands, Sara simply smiled back at him.

"Yeah, work was a bit easier today." He said scratching his head a moment and just looking around a moment "So, what did you wanted to discuss Yusei?" asked Rafael, for some reason, feeling more to cut short the conversation; seemed as if he had other things to see and they both understood it, with the position he had in Sector Security nowadays.

"It's about something Sara told me about some days ago." He replied as Sara just listened to both of them; Yusei then began explaining him of the group that was opposing to the Daedalus Bridge being completed and open for free access between Satellite and New Domino City; he then brought up a topic that Rafael had never intended to discuss with his friends, since being the head of the Paladins of Light, he had to find a solution to it "Are there any problems among the Paladins still?" he asked bluntly while Rafael just sighed, crossing arms and thinking of how things were back in the day his father was in charge.

"Sara surely told you already." He added taking a seat by the ladders to the house and with Yusei and Sara looking at him "I never thought that there would be so many problems when I took back the mantle, but truth be told, the Paladins are in more turmoil than ever."

"How is that possible? Aren't we supposed to be a group that fights for peace and justice?" asked Sara concerned of hearing that yet again, it wasn't the first time at all; back when Rafael was assigned as the new head of the Paladin faction, many of the group leaders began fearing that things would change, they had already started when his father took the mantle himself, and they knew Rafael's resolution would imply a more difficult time for them to keep 'charging' for the services that the Paladins did on their time. Upon hearing this, Yusei got amazed, he couldn't take it quite well that some part of the Paladins would have that way of thinking, so old-fashioned and abusive in a sense too "Ever since my father stepped up to lead the organization, many did rise against him to speak their mind, most of them immediately dismissed. What I mean to say is that, he made some enemies that are still pulling strings in some factions of the Paladins, in some branches."

"That's why you've been still investigating those guys on the bridge right?" asked Sara, to which Rafael simply nodded; she had a strange feeling coming from those two guys, there wasn't much that she could tell of them, not even her powers could grant her a vision or an idea of what they were up to. This was sure a bad time if they were among the Paladins that were dividing from the group.

"Yusei, Sara" Rafael spoke standing up and looking at them "I ask of you to keep this information a bit secluded in a way. You can talk about it with our friends only, but try to be discreet." He added walking by their side, getting some strange feeling inside, something that wasn't quite right at all "If this is true, they must not know that I'm tracking them down, else that could push them to make their move sooner than they expect to."

"You can count on us on that." Replied Yusei smiling to assure him everything would be kept a secret for now "We will do our best to help you locating them and" he suddenly got interrupted by Sara.

"I think it would be better…to not meddle into that at the moment Yusei, it could lead to troubles."

Rafael nodded, finishing the discussion for the moment being; however as he was about to leave Martha caught up with them and invited him to have dinner along them that night, since the kids were also very eager to have someone more to chat and play with; the night went smoothly, Jill was sharing with them a few of her stories while Sara shared with them a few tips on dueling, it reminded him of the old days, however this time it didn't bring any problems for him, it was soothing actually. It had been a while since he got to relax with his friends like that day.

As the night was rolling in deeper, and with the thought of dropping by to visit Mina a moment, Rafael was bidding his farewell for the moment being, as soon as he got on the runner though, he stopped a moment, reaching for his pocket a moment "Oh almost forgot it." He said, taking out of it a few invitations "This is for you guys, for the event we'll be holding on tomorrow at Sector Security HQs, I hope you can all go."

"We'll try our best." Added Yusei smiling, as he and Sara were waving goodbye to Rafael.

The next day, Rafael had already left for Sector Security, taking care of leading along with Mina some more things that needed attention before the ball began; it was a long afternoon, but sure it was entertaining as both talked about how each of them hadn't been to one for quite some time now, sharing some funny stories of their experience in them too. By the sunset, around 7 pm, people were already arriving, it had been some hours since the last arrangements were made; Mina decided to go back to her home to tidy herself a bit, Rafael did the same but had to be faster since he was supposed to greet and receive along with Trudge the citizens and special guests of the night.

Finally the time arriving, people gathered around the auditorium of Sector Security, it as an enormous building from inside, it was hard to believe that it was about half the height of the main building next to it; cheerful talks were echoing and resounding all over the place, as citizens from all over Satellite and New Domino City began arriving and chatting, still both factions of the city divided somehow; Rafael was right at the entrance, breathing a bit slowly and nervously while greeting the guests, nervous still about the speech he had to give, wearing a formal black tuxedo with a white shirt underneath it along a red tie, he wasn't really comfortable with it, but he had to give the air of professionalism if he was to mend with Yusei the bonds; Trudge simply smirked at him, teasing his boss a bit so calmly, as if he wasn't actually the Director at all but it still helped him ease up and get ready for the main event, as they both began heading inside with two officers taking charge of the main entrance.

"Hope we're not late at all!" a voice shouted from behind them, as Rafael and Trudge stopped on their tracks. Sara, Yusei, Akiza, Crow, Jill, Mina, Jack and Carly were arriving already together. Jill was wearing a one piece crimson red long strapped dress, with average night high heels; her hair as usual with a pony tail "Sorry to keep you waiting." She added giggling at Crow, who was rather shy, wearing a brown shirt above an orange with green bluish jeans, it wasn't exactly his style, after all he had thought of looking a bit more formal, in his own terms "Don't even say a word ok?" said Crow in a rather pissed off tone to Rafael, he did it after all for Jill, no one else would have been able to make him wear that kind of clothes.

"We took longer than expected. Sara had some troubles with her other dress so we helped her fix it." Said Akiza smiling, she was wearing a short red dress with long white gloves and red high heels, her hair as usual combed with her old controller of her psychic powers, she had it as a memento now not of the pain or the problems that life brought to her, but rather as the bridge it helped her build with Yusei and the gang, she blushed a bit as she turned to Yusei, who was wearing a white shirt with a bluish tie, underneath a long sleeved and slightly long blue coat; by his side was Sara, wearing a long yellow dress, which appeared to be a combination of a Chinese and American dress, with formal sandals, and a red ornament on the right side of her hair, loose as she liked having it.

On the other hand, Carly was using a similar dress to the one she had worn the night that Jack's movie had premiered, but she was even blushing redder when Jack somehow agreed to wear a white tuxedo for her, underneath it a light blue shirt, no ties or ribbons, he was a natural in this events, for he had gone through many of them in the past already and he knew how to roll without losing his temper "Carly, do not stick so close to me, ok?" he still said a bit annoyed, Carly clinging to his arm as if they were officially a couple, which of course bothered Jack a bit still.

"Nice to see you all here." Replied Rafael, as he turned then to Mina who was behind all of them, she was wearing a long bluish dress with long white gloves too and a green bluish scarf, with a white flower ornament on her short blue hair and blue high heels, matching quite a lot with her hair color; Rafael blushed a bit, forgetting all about the night speech and smiling at her "You look beautiful Mina." He finally said, scratching the back of his head a moment and walking next to her. Mina simply giggled blushing, she never recalled ever seeing Rafael, her boss now, like this before when they were both detectives. Sure, he often tried hitting on her and she respectfully said no, yet this time it felt different for both. Trudge finally decided to break the tension a moment "Umm Director, it is time already." He said, not sure how to handle the situation himself.

Rafael snapped out of his mind a moment and looked at the guests gathering around the main hall, as he took a deep breath and then rushed towards the platform, tidying himself a moment and testing the mic once more "Hello everyone, and welcome to Sector Security's Annual Charity Ball!" he said loudly stretching his arms to the sides, as the people began clapping "Tonight, we not only come here with our usual goal of raising funds for some of the city's departments, but we also come here to commemorate the fulfillment of the main dream that my predecessor, Director Goodwin had in mind for the city." He said, showing pictures of the now completed Daedalus Bridge, along with some others of the many connections that now were made between Satellite and New Domino City "Yusei Fudo and I took to our hands that dream and worked hard to make sure it was completed not to our extent, but in benefit of all of us." He said, taking a slight break to calm down his nerves yet again, and letting his words come out freely as the guests remained silent.

"Much has happened in the past years, and this sort of change suddenly happening surely caught us off-guard." He said in a serious tone, as his friends were already in first line watching and hoping he did ok "We may come from different places, ladies and gentlemen, but we are all part of the same city." He then pointed to the pictures of the bridge and how easily it was now for people to from Satellite to New Domino City and vice versa "There is no need for segregation anymore, there is no need to look at each other with concern and doubt anymore. We are fellow citizens and one thing is sure, if both Satellite and New Domino City are to have a bright future, it rests upon us. We are the ones that will make that happen!" he raised his voice to catch the attention and help his ideas to flow better "We stand side by side now, not alone, with our bonds and our friendship guiding us forward!" people began to cheer up and clap to his words "It is united that we shall make things better and live in one big and proud city!"

"There are many more things to come yet, but of something I am certain is that if we stand together and we all give a hand" he paused for a moment, finally getting the idea of how to finish "as in Duel Monsters and turbo Duels, we will all be part of a Deck that will break through to the top!" with the perfect analogy for a city that loves Dueling Monsters that much, it made the perfect sense, and people reacted immediately to it, the division that Rafael noticed at the beginning of the evening gone now, and now, he could see the gap was fading away "Thank you, and enjoy yourselves the rest of the evening."

Finally the speech finished, Rafael sighed when the mics went off and people kept clapping for him; he stepped of the platform and he walked towards his friends and the some of the citizens that were already rounding him up to congratulate him on the marvelous speech and how he went straight to the point, making interesting comparisons.

Yusei and Sara smiled at him, clapping a moment to their friend, Sara giggled a bit "I had forgotten how, in his nerves, he can end up giving such inspirational speeches like that one."

"Did he give you and Alan some of them when you three were at school?" asked Yusei smiling to her, a bit curious of it and trying to teases Sara a bit; he just got a slight laughter as Sara blushed, nodding slowly to him.

"Yes, he's an excellent duelist and friend, I can tell you that but" she stopped smiling a bit and laughing still "he's not that good giving motivational speeches, still he holds his own."

"Well, that sure hurts." Said Rafael smiling as he reunited with his friends "You know, you can always try and take my place and role haha." He replied with a smile, the group laughing happily at the joke, easily sweeping away the seriousness of what it had been discussed the day before.

A few minutes after his speech, the band began playing some music, starting with a bit of blues and jazz, the beat calmed and relaxing as the party was just starting. Jill immediately giggled, dragging Crow with her as she was intending to teach him how to dance properly, the look on Crow's face had a bit of embarrassment and pleading for help from us, but surely he knew it was in vain when Jill had him already dancing with her; Carly and Jack suddenly disappeared, they were already in the tables, or more like Jack was sitting patiently and refusing to dance, while Carly struggled to take him by his arm and drag him as well to the stage.

"Yusei" Sara said smiling as she held his hand, looking at his eyes "would you like to go for a dance?" she asked calmly and a bit reserved, even when she was the older one from both of them, she didn't want to push herself on Yusei; he simply smiled and nodded, blushing a slight bright red, by now the music the band played turned to slow or medium paced ballades, light turning to a dim light blue; Akiza couldn't help but laugh at the expression of Yusei, one could actually tell from the looks that she and Sara had already planned that out along, something a tad odd for sure, but seemed like friendship could stay higher than love.

"Ahem" Rafael said, walking to the side of Mina, smiling at her as the night was rolling in peacefully and actually enjoyable "Would you mind conceding me this piece, milady?" he asked her, a slight blush drawing in Mina's face as his hand waited right in front of her; she just nodded and giggled a bit while holding Rafael's hand, they both were in the edge of the dance floor, as he held her gently and began moving slowly to the beat of the song "You'll have to forgive me" said Mina a tad embarrassed "It's been sometime since I last danced."

"Not a problem." He replied smiling warmly and slowly taking to the rhythm of the song, he was slowly wandering around in small circles with her on their spot, eventually, when she felt more comfortable, both picking up their pace; their friends looking at them, it wasn't helping either of them to feel slightly nervous, but it was fine for them, they were actually for once enjoying their time to the fullest; Yuseis stopped dancing and walked towards Sara, as they watched "He sure seems to be a skilled dancer." Said Akiza, while Yusei and Sara remained silent a bit; Sara closed her eyes with a wide smile as she remembered their first dance back in the old days "He didn't like dancing that much, I had to slowly meddle in and show him the ropes of dancing."

Afterwards, the piece ended a few moments later, Rafael and Mina smiled blushing as they were walking off-stage, until 2 people stood in the way, bumping with Mina "Hey, watch it now." said one of the two men, a tall, slender, young black haired man, with a rough looking face, very sharp piercing eyes, in his tuxedo however, Rafael recognized something, a golden metal clad medal, slightly small, with the form of an edgy arrow-head shield.

"It wasn't our intention." Said Rafael in a firm voice, helping Mina move away, immediately recognizing the man afterwards and getting serious, knowing who he was and possibly his companion "If you'll excuse us now…"

"Why the rush, Director Rafael?" said a voice behind the tall brunette man, as the other man, an older one about in his mid-forties stepped in forwards, with a silly yet mysterious grin "It was our fault, no need to apologize for this petty matter." He said walking closer to Rafael, standing by his side now and looking straight into his eyes "I must say I'm a bit concerned you haven't send in warrants for us."

Yusei and company headed towards Rafael and Mina when they stumble upon these men, not recognizing them yet, but having a bad feeling about them; Rafael held Mina's hand and guided her behind him "This is not the time or the place."

"You're right, we might as well take this matter outside?" he pointed to the main door, where 2 more men were already waiting "Don't worry; we're not here to make a little number, rather…something else." Rafael remained silent, just staring at the man, he glared back at Yusei and Sara, as they stopped when they noticed the two men watching them "You may think the war is over my friend, but you and I both know that darkness still lurks this world. You must choose carefully now."

"There's nothing to choose, my decision has been made and I won't change my mind."

The man shook his head in disapproval, taunting Rafael and Yusei, Sara gasped as she finally identified him; the younger man was walking towards them menacingly, until the older man stopped him "I'm afraid that you disappoint me, I thought you'd be smarter than your old man. But very well, you'll eventually change your mind." He added as he finally walked away with his comrades; Rafael kept staring at the direction the men had headed off, spacing out a bit. Rafael and his friends just stared back at them, both leaving the hall of Duel Academy and disappearing in the night.

A few hours later, in a strange abandoned building that still looked in good shape, 4 men were moving inside, the 4 of them the ones that appeared in the dance of Sector Security. Inside, 3 more men were standing around a table with maps of the whole city wide spread "Welcome sir." said one of the men inside "I trust the journey wasn't in…"

"It was." Said the older shorter man, as he stood, arms extended across the maps and looking at his companions "It seems that he has the mentality of his father, that is a BIG mistake in my opinion."

"If he is careless, he will go through the same his father did." Said the younger tall man smirking as he leaned against the wall "I say we should start moving on our own and make sure this war is 'over'."

"Patience Alexander. There is much to discuss yet." Their leader stared at the map, marked on it were the locations of Sector Security HQs, and also, Satellite's downtown "In time my friends, we will finally reclaim what is rightfully ours. Victory is nigh, and if everything goes according to our plans" he said with a wide grin in his face "things will return to the former glory we knew, we will earn much more money than ever before. As well as full control, of the Paladins of Light."

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><p><strong>Well, that's all for the day right now; things are sure heating up a bit for our heroes and no one knows how things will fare from this point onwards. Before going to the next chapter's brief, first things first, the explanation; I must warn you that, you don't have to read it, I just feel I owe you people, my readers, an explanation as to what happened in here.<strong>

**Long story a bit shorter, I was starting to work on a very personal work on my own, gearing up an original story of my design, making some rough sketches of characters, worlds, weapons, etc; but it had to be cut short because university started demanding me lots of time for projects, assignments, the usual in this life; then, work, I was in need of some extra cash and started working part time, consuming more of my ever thinner time available for myself, but I still managed to go on; finally, well, something a bit personal happened, won't dwell much into it as I don't feel that's needed in here, things didn't work out and so, I got a bit depressed and decided to quit my story and my fanfics; but, after reading some other works in here of other people, friends, and my story being read by also personal close friends in here, they encouraged me to continue with this project, as it was a nice interesting turn-around and addition in their opinion to the 5D's world; as such, after more than a year, finally I'm back.**

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><p><strong>And that's that, now, Jaden and Yusei, why don't you guys give us a heads up as to what's to come in the next episode?<strong>

**Jaden: Sure will! Well, things are heating up for sure in New Domino City, with Rafael finding more and more evidence a rebellion is rising in the Paladins.  
>Yusei: We have to be together in order to face the trials ahead, only then shall we be able to help our friends and the city.<br>Aster: Hey guys, remember that we're in France right? Were we tracked down a bit of the road the Fiends took the Psychich duelists?  
>Rafael: Yeah, we sure do.<br>Jaden: What's the matter Aster? I something wrong going in there?  
>Misty: You have to see it to believe…I don't blame you guys but…<br>Sara: Wait…are those…Paladin symbols?  
>Rafael: What is the meaning of this?! The Paladins are working with Fiends now?!<strong>

**Aster: This and more in Paladins of Light – Eternal Bonds, Chapter 10: Lies and Treachery!**

**Paladins: Stop right there! You've seen more than enough already!  
>Aster: Dang…seems I'll have to prove you what Destiny is all about right?<br>Misty: Where are you people holding Tobby? Answer me!  
>?: Hey Aster, seems you might need a hand or two? Or perhaps…the power of a gem?<strong>

**Rafael: Don't miss us, we're back in business now!  
>LightLord: So far as job and university don't have me chained down heh, that could prove true, after a long time out. Until next time, and thanks again for another chapter people.<strong>


	10. Episode 10: Enter the Crusaders

**OK, firstly, I should apologize to the fans of the Paladins of Light series; I know I took a very long vacation, I had been explaining in another fanfic I started that I was very blocked with this one. It was getting very difficult to spare time to actually get the ideas flowing and as such, I had decided to put it on standby for an undefined time…until now. I thank both, LittlePippi and DragonKnight15 because you two were the ones that originally saved this story from being dumped; the same goes to those anonymous readers and other fellow fanfic readers and writers that started to get an interest on this story, it was keeping me happy that it was entertaining to some and that you were enjoying something that I started as a hobby but that became much more for me; that's why I really apologize for the long period of inactivity in this fanfic and I know I have a lot to make up for all of you that enjoy this story, but now we're back in business and although I'm taking a new approach to duels for this story, I'm working excitedly now that I have more time and also been trying to improve much more the way the chapters are written. Anyways, I'll keep these posts as brief as possible.**

**I would also like to ask you people if by any chance you've indeed noticed a change on my writing style? I don't know why, but I have this feeling I have changed it a bit from time to time, thanks to some works at uni perhaps, or just unconsciously wanted to try a new alternative; compared to say, how Darkness Awakens was written originally. Anyways, if you could give me your opinion about it I would be grateful for sure, be it on a PM or a review; anyways, onward with today's chapter.**

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><p><strong>LightLord92: This is Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's - Paladins of Light: Eternal Bonds; Episode 10 - Lies and Treachery; Enter the Crusaders!<br>Rafael: Took you about time to come back!  
>Sara: Yes, what took so long?<br>LightLord92: Let's just focus ok?  
>Yusei: At least we're back in action once more, and things sure will be heating up in New Domino City!<strong>

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><p>It was morning already, Rafael was on his office at Sector Security's HQ, staring at the city, his eyes deeply fixed on the streets and the citizens that were starting their daily routine, it was evident he hadn't got any sleep recently, his eyes were a bit red and tired, he sighed and rubbed a bit his forehead, setting down on the chair at his desk; the meeting with those Paladins of last night, could it prove his suspicious for good now? Was he in danger for standing against them? Nothing was more dangerous than a man with a strong will, he and his friends knew very well how powerful the force of will was and how humans could use it to do great things for good; but these Paladins, there was no good actually in their goals, none at all.<p>

His computer turned on, Rafael began typing a few commands in a new program he had worked a few years ago, for the Paladins of Light; once on it, he introduced the command 'GATEKEEPER' and hit enter; in the screen, a list of all active Paladins appeared, he then choose two of the files that appeared on the screen; Carter, Victor: he was the older man from last night's ball, and he had been accused in the organization by destroying a whole building when he chased one of the Fiends, his father had demoted him and exiled him for 5 years after that, many years ago. The second file, of the youngest man, appeared. Hammer, Alexander: unlike Carter, Alexander wasn't at all an extremist, he worked under the radar greatly for some time, but eventually, corruption got to him, and he began charging a huge fee in order to do his work; this earned him the demotion of Commander, all the way down to Soldier, but then, there was also a very strange addition to the file.

Rafael wondered what it could be, he opened it up and inside, what he saw surprised him a lot; why in the world would Alexander have files regarding the operations of the Arcadia Movement? Moreover, why did he have pictures of Akiza and Sayer? There were also files of many kids in the document, possibly other psychic duelists; Rafael suddenly thought of something when he saw the file of Toby in there; didn't he die according to what Sayer said to them in Satellite? He crossed this database with the database of Sector Security's Bureau, looking to see if any of these children and teenagers had gone missing "It can't be…" he murmured to himself when the doors opened.

Mina was going inside with a smile and her usual work clothes "Director Rafael may I…" she said, cut short by Rafael who signaled her to move in quickly, closing the door immediately "Is there something wrong Director?" she asked concerned, last night still fresh in her mind.

"I was checking an old database of the Paladins, looking for our friends of last night." He said then connecting it to the office's personal server, so no one could see it and closing the door and curtains "and I found both of them, but one of them" he said, showing Alexander's profile "he appears in the archives of Arcadia Movement."

"It can't be, do you think he…"

"No, it's beneath a Paladin to do that. Most likely he was spying them and got interested." Replied Rafael then hitting enter again, this time the results of crossing the archives "But he knows of the psychic duelists and he sure is involved in the disappearances that came from Sayer's experimenting."

As he was about to shut down everything, Rafael receives a message from Aster; he sets up a private channel communication, in the middle of the room appearing a digital screen with Aster and Misty on the other side "Aster, what is the matter?"

Misty looked rather astonished, Aster on the other hand was between serious and angry, staring back at Rafael "Rafael, what is going on? We tracked Toby to a facility here in France, thinking it was a Fiends research facility but" Misty then stood ahead, getting serious as well.

"We discovered it to be a facility of the Paladins."

Rafael was left speechless, Aster and Misty could see it in his expression; he had no idea of this and that made matters much worse "Aster, Misty, fill me in what happened there at France."

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><p>Aster took a deep breath and simply looked back at Rafael through the com connection; it had been during their morning in France; after a long session of shooting Misty had, the crew was gearing up already to leave, as Misty was about to finish getting ready herself for her time out. Aster was waiting for her outside of the building, with arms crossed as he checked a few things in his linker "Well then, Mr. Phoenix" she said closing the door behind her, wearing her usual clothes "Are there any news?"<p>

Aster smirked to her watching around the area to see if there was anyone else around "Well, to be honest, our last clue actually leads somewhere." He said, opening a file containing the location of an old warehouse next to the "This last lead I managed to find will most likely lead us to the base, and rescue your brother."

Misty saw the file and shuddered a bit, it sure was the last lead that could take them to her brother. The supposed base of the fiends in France, near a warehouse around the Eiffel Tower, had been busted already, the remains of it were just documents filed under the Psychological Warfare topic, a project of the fiends to use the powers of psychic duelists in their battle with the Paladins; humans were involved as well, very few survivors were kept in a dungeon deep below the ground, none knowing how that happened "Aster…I don't know what to do if…" she was cut short by Aster, simply holding her hand.

"Misty, we will find him. This may be our last trail, but if that's the case, this one must be it."

Misty nodded, as they headed out finally for this covert mission; outside of the warehouse, it seemed pretty much like any other building around the city, until they went inside of the warehouse; it was dark and filled with dust, a moist smell filling the air, but on the other side, a small structure stood with a scanner, it looked rather high-tech for an abandoned vault. Why would it require such safety measurements escaped the minds of Misty and Aster. They both stood in front of it, until Aster put his hand on the hand scanner, a soft ding echoing; at that moment, a hidden elevator lifted from the floor, creating a slight dust cloud. Both Misty and Aster got inside and waited for it to once again reach below.

In a few seconds, they had reached a completely different area beneath the warehouse, totally opposite to what it looked above; it was high tech with lots of gadgets and scientific devices, analyzing information of what seemed to be a battle related investigation; Aster and Misty were hiding in the upper levels, hidden in the narrow corridors, eavesdropping on the scientists and researchers as they were analyzing some information on a strange red-colored liquid, it seemed to glow against the light "What could that be?" asked Misty, her voice stuttering a bit at the end, this place looked quite normal, so much that it seemed to be creepy and it was getting to her nerves.

"I've got no idea…these people surely aren't related to the fiends yet…" replied Aster, about to sneak when they saw a figure walking towards the scientists. It was a bald human with little hair growing on the sides of his head; he had a scar in his left eye and was very bulky; from the reactions of the researchers it appeared to be he was in charge of everything around the complex.

"What do we have new today?" he asked with a stern deep voice, watching a small summary of the information in the displays and screens "Do we have any progress controlling them?"

"I think we have found the answer." One of the researchers said, taking out of his pockets a red substance "This thing, we call it the 'Cleanser', after completing the 10th stage of development it has finally worked without any secondary effects." The researcher showed a video with a test subject profile, it was a teenager called John, he had grown into Dueling Monsters for quite some time and it was in his early teens that he realized he was a psychic duelist. He was approached by the Arcadia Movement and put to their cruel tortures in order to enhance to the limits his powers. Ultimately, he managed to cross his limits at a high cost, his mind was slowly fading away "We noticed a rather unique trait in the brainwaves of these people of Arcadia, they seem to forget anything related to their past life before that point, hating the thought. The Fiends had the idea of using them and 'killed' some of them to move them to their facility until we-"

"Spare me the details doctor." said the head leader of the project getting serious as he was clearly over the edge regarding this project. The researchers asked for the guards to bring forth the Test Subject No. 000. When the boy was brought, Misty's eyes immediately gave into tears flowing from them, Aster gritting his teeth in anger.

"This is Toby Tredwell." He said presenting the young boy with an infuser of the 'Cleanser' connected to his head "Do not be afraid, it may be a very astonishing view, but the kid doesn't suffer a bit. The Cleanser is being injected when needed, helping us control him." Their leader slowly walked around the boy, his eyes empty, lost in the immensity of his own mind "The Cleanser also enhances his dueling skills, making his psychic powers more dangerous than before."

The Paladin leader just chuckled, laughing as a mad man and beginning to startle the other researchers "To think the Arcadia Movement thought them weak, and the Fiends wanted to exploit their strength." He added as he clicked a button on his wrist controller, releasing a fiend Duel Monster known as Ryukishin; Toby's eyes showed life again, as the boy was given a Duel Disk and he immediately drew a card, summoning forth Gil Garth, as the beast rushed and crushed without mercy the Ryukishin. The researchers were left speechless, as the body of the creature was still in its place, with a huge wrecked floor below it from the impact of the other beast "Most impressive indeed, it's a good thing we rescued them, now that they owe us a favor, they will repay us, don't you guys think?" the other Paladins laughed, the researchers still quite astonished by how effective the drug was indeed.

Misty was on the verge of sobbing, she couldn't believe her eyes still as she just saw her little brother, but least could she come up to see him in such a state. If his mind had really been broken, would there be any possibility to bring him back? Would he still remember her? Would he be able to live without that substance? Aster tried sending a comm emergency message but to no avail, the facility blocked communications and as such, he was convinced it would come to him and Misty to save them prisoners "Don't worry Misty, we will save your brother one way or another."

"But…" she said, trying to calm down, knowing it was a bit too early to lose hope and to give in to sentimentality, least on this place "Ok…we have to be careful on whatever plan you're making up." Aster simply smiled as they turned to see the group of Paladins working around and taking back Toby to his room.

A little while later, Aster finally put in motion his plan; he had knocked unconscious one of the researchers and taken his credentials to sweep into the Test Subject Area, there, Misty and he looked frantically for Toby, finally, finding him in a wide open room with crystal walls; at the door, there was a security system, chuckling at the foolishness of the Paladins to use that kind of basic system, Aster connected a decipher and cracked open the door "Toby!" shouted Misty, standing right in front of the psychic duelist, scared, nervous; the eyes of Toby were still seemingly lost in his deepest thoughts, this wasn't at all a good thing "Toby? It's me, your sister."

"Sis…ter…?" came a very soft and astonishing reply from the kid.

Misty still pulled herself together, deeply breathing and giving a warm long hug to her brother "Toby, I thought you were gone…but everything is ok now…sis will take care of you." In that moment, his eyes were starting to shine a bit, they didn't seemed lifeless anymore, he was staring back at Misty and finally, with a few tears rolling down his cheek, Toby snapped out of the trance he was in, hugging Misty dearly while sobbing, not letting go of her.

"We've got to be quick." said Aster, looking around and keeping guard on the prison cell "We don't need the whole building chasing us after breaking in like this, right?" Toby was looking deep into Misty's eyes, she could tell he was trying to work things out, awaken from a terrible nightmare; Aster knelt and took Toby on his back, readying to leave the building as soon as possible but worried that they would leave so many subjects in a dire situation. It was a monstrosity for sure, something only thought the Fiends would pull off, and yet, it was the Paladins. Aster was really angry about this, but they had to do something.

"Hey, what are you guys doing there!" a voice shouted, as two of the guards were rushing towards them "Don't move! Call up security, gear them up and ready now!"

"Well, we've got to make a move for it, let's get going Misty!" said Aster, as Misty and Toby had to stand up quickly, readying to get away, but their routes were getting cut off, the whole facility was now aware of them in there. Corridors were flowing with tons of guards, the researchers were desperately moving in and out of rooms in hopes of not getting caught in the midst of the action. They were running out of time and of chances, most of the exits were already covered, Aster was hoping that they could really make a run for it towards the main exit, with the whole facility trying to track and pinpoint them, there sure were few guards in the main exit. As they turned to the right on a large narrow corridor, Misty sighed in relief, the main door was practically alone "Finally, this is going to end." But Aster had a bad feeling, firstly the elevator wasn't there, surely someone had gone up or moreover, someone would be coming down with more guards.

The elevator rang, as it began coming down, Aster was gearing up himself as they held Toby closer; the doors opened wide open and nobody was in the elevator; in relief but still troubled by how things were going out, the three of them jumped on the elevator and immediately pushed the button to go up; it was a close call, the moment the doors closed guards were already forming up in the facility outside the elevator. They caught their breath and sighed almost in unison, the doors to the upper level where they had entered and that was it; Aster only had to think a bit now of how to help the other prisoners escape "That was a close one…" he said, as the elevator dinged, and the doors opened wide.

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><p>They got out of the warehouse, it seemed really a lot like they had luck, or was it really that? The moment they stepped outside, they heard a laugh behind them, a man standing at the outsides of the warehouse "So, you really thought you'd be able to run out like that of our trap, little rats?" he asked smirking deviously "You obviously think little of us Paladins."<p>

Misty and Toby backed down, a bit afraid, there were about 6 of them against only 3, they doubled them and it wouldn't be long until they captured them and sent Toby back into that nightmare "Stand back, under the Paladin Code of Order, paragraph 6…"

"Oh cut me the chase please!" interrupted the bald man from before, angry "Do you really think I like that code designed by a brute without guts? Those rules allowed the Fiends to come into the world!"

"Those rules have saved a many lives, I can vouch for that. Rafael and his family…"

"I could care less about that filthy traitor. He isn't aware of many things, and good for him, because he only signs our small paychecks, but who am I?" he asked, readying his duel disk as the other Paladins just laughed "Now, give up, go back inside, and be good lab rats for me."

"I'd rather die than hand Toby to you evil, traitor…"

"Madame, just shut up ok?" said the leader obviously angry and irritated, as he was walking towards them until Dogma appeared between them, making him and his group fall back "So it shall be that way…you'll regret opposing the Crusaders, pathetic Paladin!"

As the man was about to force the duel, a second shadow dived right behind them, immediately surprising and knocking out 3 of the servants the leader had, hooded and covering his face as the man easily swept the floor with them "It seems you don't know much about honor or justice, or loyalty to say the least."

"Who the hell do you think you are punk?! How dare you oppose us?!" he shouted never again saying the former name of Crusaders, as he stood between Aster and the figure. Yet he didn't get any answer back, instead, just a chuckle, as Aster smiled "What took you so long Anderson? I thought you were fast."

Said that, the figure finally took off the hood, revealing a good friend of Jaden and Aster, Jesse Anderson, the star student from North Academy and the only keeper of the legendary Crystal Beast deck, as well of the powers guarded by the mighty Rainbow Dragon "Well, let's just say a journey from Germany to France wasn't that easy to book in, seems you got tangled up in troubles here huh?" Aster simply nodded as Jesse shook his head "How many times must I save you and the others hahaha…"

"Quit it with the bullshit now!" shouted the leader, taking his distance and already turning on his duel disk, engaging both of them "That's enough now, I'll deal with you two losers now, you two were the past, I'm the today now!"

Misty felt a bit more secured as Toby was holding her back, while Aster and Jesse geared up for the duel; however, they both knew the risks, their decks weren't exactly very collaborative to say the least, furthermore, they didn't know a thing about the Paladin they were facing, could it be a new hired face? Only the duel would tell them.

The duel wasn't going rather well, in a huge explosion, Jesse had his monsters destroyed as his Life Points were at 900; Aster was barely holding himself with three lesser Destiny Heroes, namely Doom Lord, Double Guy, and Dasher, his Life Points counting 1000 and just one face down; on the other hand, the Paladin leader was smirking, his Life Points were at 2200, still higher than both of them combined, making him taunt them and think of victory early, on his field, he had an improved version of Axel Brody's fire machines, a Continuous Spell Card designed by the Crusaders of Justice, **Crusader Cannon – Devastator**, a fancy futuristic ground cannon, powered up with fire to set alit the field of either Jesse or Aster; to stop any attacks at him, he had put up a Continuous Spell called Toll, forcing both Aster and Jesse to think their strategies once more on attacking, now more than ever "Heh, and to think Rafael and his group were the strongest, but we've been preparing for a long time now."

"Preparing? For what?" asked Aster setting up a record system on his jacket, he still had his doubts of the Paladin involvement on this matter, and if there was anything else. The leader of the facility simply smirked and laughed madly as he stared back at both Aster and Jesse.

"Fools, if you had chosen to fight for a real man, we'd have banished the Fiends once and for all! But no, you had to step in and protect the Spirit World." He stated firmly and getting angry "We do what needs to be done, and that world shouldn't be a concern to humankind! We're going to eliminate all that proves a danger to human kind! That includes traitors like you!"

"Wow, this guy is serious about this matter." Said Jesse scratching the back of his head, smirking then as the Amber Mammoth and Topaz Tiger that he had in his field turned into gemstones along with Cobalt Eagle and Emerald Tortoise that were already in gemstone form "But, you keep forgetting one slight detail: my Rainb"

"Rainbow Dragon?" asked the man smirking excitedly "Don't worry, I have him contemplated. As well as Dreadmaster." He replied cockily laughing out at both of the GX students "Not only them, but Felgrand Dragon, Endymion, all of the cards you people use. We did our research and we have created cards specifically to counter your strategies."

"Counter us? In this duel you've only fired that cannon rather than countering us!" Aster turned in now, while Jesse was taking his turn, seeing a way to crack through the stategy of this self-proclaimed 'Crusader'.

"That's because I don't need anything else, each of you will fall in my next turn, and believe me, I have what it takes to clean the floor with you both."

"But first" said Jesses, showing off the card he had just gotten, Crystal Abundance "Let's see how you fare with this! Crystal Abundance needs that I have at least 4 Crystal Beasts in my Spell and Trap Zone, which I do, and by releasing them" he said as the four crystal gems were enveloped in a fire of their corresponding color, winding up in a powerful spark "I can clean the entire field of any threats!"

"Are you nuts?!" asked the opponent, angrily as he backed up a bit, smirking then "It won't matter, I can still defeat you both when your fields are wide open!"

"That is if we leave you a choice." added Aster as he activated his trap card, it had the image of Destiny Hero Doom Lord releasing itself and creating a shockwave of dark energy "I activate my trap card, **Destiny's Revenge**, which allows me to release any Destiny Hero in my field and forcing you to drop cards from your hand equal to its level! And I choose Dasher for that!" with those words, the crusader's eyes widened, as he knew what that meant, his hand already had the combo he needed to end the duel in the next turn, summoning forth with Double Summon two Fire monsters and finish it, but Aster was now forcing him to wipe his hand clean. Angrily and growling, he threw his hand to the graveyard, obviously irritated; now he was depending on his next draw.

With that chain resolved, Jesse's play was now taking the head, as the crystal gems combined in one powerful shine, removing the cannon, the continuous spell, and one face down creature that the Crusader had in the field, leaving him wide open, but so were Aster and Jesse "Then, by the effect of Abundance, I can bring back up to 3 Crystal Beasts from my Graveyard, I choose Emerald Tortoise in defense, Cobalt Eagle in attack, and Amber Mammoth as well in attack!" on his field, the three monsters finally appeared, the mammoth making a loud growl, stomping the floor below him, the eagle shrieked taking high sky immediately above the mammoth, and finally the tortoise remained behind, guarding their master "Cool move huh? You know what this means?" said Jesse happily as he ordered both the Amber Mammoth and Cobalt Eagle to finish up the game "Game set for us! Strike now!"

"Not so quick!" shouted the crusader in his last bargain, as a fire wall rose in front of him, a fire bird landing in front of him and consuming itself while creating a barrier in front of the Crusader "I remove from play **Blazing Guardian **from my graveyard, with that, I won't receive any battle damage this turn."

"Hmmm, barely escaped huh? I'm not done yet, I activate now Crystal Blessing, to bring to my Spell and Trap zone, Amethyst Cat and Sapphire Pegasus that were sent earlier!" the two gems then appeared at the sides of Jesse, adding to the pressure of the Crusader as Jesse was finishing his turn now "You know what happens if I get the last Crystal Beast right? Topaz is in the graveyard, and I only need Carbuncle now to bring the heavy hitter."

"I told you…" a blunt answer as the crusader sighed barely holding his own now, the game was against him for sure and he was out of tricks, it was now or never, because even Aster would put him in serious problems "I'm ready for anything, this duel means nothing behind what Victor has in store!" That name had a ring on Aster, and he was happy his recorder was catching all of this "Rafael knew all along of us, but he decided to play like his father and just demoting us, or exiling, it's about time we take the command and do what must be done!"

"Destroying the Spirit World doesn't sound like the way to do that." said Jesse as his Crystal Beasts were growing unease, only he could hear them as they were angrily yelling to this opponent "Why should all of them pay for what only one race is doing? It is madness what you propose!"

"Then I'm mad, but I know my place is with my own kind!" he shouted drawing his last card, it was now or never indeed, and he looked at the only card, gritting his teeth as he simply passed.

"It all comes to this then." added Aster as he got his card, smiling "I activate Dasher's ability from my graveyard, which allows me to show you this" he said, as Dreadmaster was the hero he got in his draw "in order to Special Summon, Destiny Hero Dasher!" as the creature took the field, the crusader knew what was in store for him, he held something strange on his hand, as he was already sure he would lose, pressing the button "I'm not done yet, I activate Destiny Draw, to discard Destiny Hero – Captain Tenacious, to draw 2 more cards." Aster inspected his cards; he only needed one more monster to put an end to the duel, a smile drew on his face as he smirked "Time to finish this, I summon Destiny Hero Diamond Dude, that will be all now. Attack, Destiny Heroes!" ordered Aster, Diamond Dude hitting the ground and creating a trail of diamond pikes heading straight for the 'Crusader', while Dasher was running forward at full speed. Both strikes connected successfully, putting an end to the duel, Aster and Jesse nodding at each other as they managed to get through. Misty and Toby seemed in relief, the Crusader just looking down, feeling shame from his defeat "Well then, time to face justice."

"Justice?" he asked Aster back, chuckling between his teeth.

"Don't try and resist, you and all the people involved in this operation will be" said Jesse as he took a pair of handcuffs, preparing to take him out of the place when he simply pushed them back, taking out detonator showing it to them "Dang it, and you call yourself a Paladin?!"

"Calm down now!" ordered Aster as he was walking towards Misty and her brother to get them to safety somehow "Don't do anything stupid, the Paladins of Light branch in France is heading this way already, you've lost."

"I thought I made myself clear." Replied the Crusader, laughing as he backed away a bit "We're going to do what's necessary to finish the war, to finish those spirits." He once again pulled the control he had, with a red trigger button "We are compromised in here. Prepare to execute Phase-Omega." He said as a beeping sound came from the controller, as Aster, he had been transmitting all info, surely from the base's main computer "You win this battle Paladin"

"Wait what are you-" said Jesse as he then got astonished "Guys, get out of here now!" he said rushing to Aster, Misty and Tobby, trying to take them far as possible.

"It is too late now! We don't hesitate, we don't take risk!" he then pushed the button, below, in the main computer and the base explosive packs triggering bombs up in the warehouse, as the explosions engulfed other buildings nearby and another explosion triggering close to where the Crusader was "LONG LIVE THE CRUSADERS!" were his last words as the fire consumed the warehouse. The fire didn't take long to begin spreading, Aster and his friends barely making it out.

Not too long, the fire department of Paris and several news and official units appeared, investigating the incident, many of the head administrative being members of the Paladins of Light. They began working up a story as to the incident to calm down the citizens, while they began discussing and assessing the situation with both Aster and Jesse. Once things calmed down and no press channels were around, the Paladins began looking among the remains of the fire the entrance to the Facility, fearing that the Crusader had been so extremist to blow up the building from below killing anyone inside.

"Any news yet?" asked Aster concerned, at the very least, there were around 2000 test subjects to the serum that was being developed. The team of Paladins however wasn't finding anything yet.

"Could the Paladins really be so cruel, to terminate all the facility in order to keep their secrets?" asked Misty holding Tobby, very concerned and astonished as to what they saw.

"Not likely." Added Jesse, crossing his arms and smiling to Aster and Misty "I had caught them some weeks ago, maneuvered a bit inside, the trigger he activated?" he said, showing them then pieces of a mechanical synchronized computer system "I disconnected it from the terminal in the base. He just blew up this connection." relieved to hear that, some of the scouts of the Paladins finally found the hatchet to the main building. It was very surprising for the Paladins indeed, they had never seen such a cruel and desperate measurement used by them, distressing was a very soft word to describe the feelings of the Paladins finding and rescuing the subjects. Never in their history since the founding has the organization condoned the use of civilians in any means, for a militia, or even more, to test new gear or tactics of any kind. Needless to say that the head scientists were all under arrest by the Paladins and taken for further interrogation, some of the other remaining Paladins however had disappear, while others, resorted to suicide to take their secrets with them. The situation was way out of control now, and the Paladins were completely aware of it now, but Aster found it really frustrating that Rafael or Sara weren't aware of this earlier, how could something so big be kept a secret so easily for the same organization such a movement was coming from?

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><p>With that explanation, Rafael was speechless; he knew he should have seen that earlier, that he should have done something, but then again how could he had if he wasn't even aware such a big movement was going below his nose? He was aware of the rebels, yes, but he had been issuing exile and demotions to them, further gaining their hatred towards him. But to think they would go this far, it made him think what else was going on "Aster, I want you, Misty, Tobby, and Jesse to stay in France." He said seriously, Mina could note it in his face; before Aster could reply or anything he continued "Don't come back to New Domino City, I have located their leaders and I will take care of this myself. It is time to see, what they are really preparing."<p>

Aster remained silent a moment, Misty had returned to look after Tobby "How could this go so far?" he asked to Rafael, who simply shook his head "I hope you are prepared for the worst then, because I fear we will soon see it."

"I will handle this." Replied Rafael, as the transmission was then finished. His mind was now a complete mess, between preparing to face Reginald once more, and dealing with these extremists, it was obvious which task demanded him the most, but he had to move quickly and swiftly.

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><p>Far from them, at an odd looking bar in the outskirts of New Domino City, Victor and Alexander had arrived, looking for someone. They were fully aware of the events in Paris, and had ordered their undercover men to move cautiously to silence any scientist that dared talk against them, as well as terminating any of their own men that could have been caught and erase any links. They had the means, they had enough hands to move, it was almost like they had prepared and foreseen every single possible outcome; Alexander looked rather disappointed and annoyed when they went inside the bar, it was almost like a resort for gamblers, thugs, or criminals "I still don't know what we're doing here Victor, we should be gearing up to take over the Paladins."<p>

"Patience Alexander." Said Victor in a soft voice, the older man stepping in and smiling at the seemingly eager young protégé he had found "When you play chess, one has to be prepared for every single movement the opponent has, even so far as to guide him to fall and follow your game." He said, spotting a lone man playing pool, smirking "We need, the help of this exiled Paladin."

They walked closer to the man, not distracting of his game as he was about to hit, men around him, apparently on a bet of One-pocket, his rival had already began and it was the turn of the rookie, the man that Victor and Alexander were looking for. He was about his mid-thirties, short blonde dirty hair, wearing a brown bruised old jacket, with a dark green shirt underneath and black jeans, wearing fingerless black gloves. The man took his position and in a single hit scoring to his favor on his socket; the other player began playing more defensively but even so, the rookie again took his turn and scored; finally the game ended with the rookie wining the money, but not without being called a cheater by the loser, until he got his hand-wrist broken by the rookie in self-defense "I'm starting to like this guy. Who is he?"

"A man that Rafael's father feared." Replied Victor, as they approached the winner, who let go of the now hurt loser, turning to the guests and smiling as if nothing had happened "Wonderful game, you must have a computer by brain to be able to score with just one hit."

The man shrugged them off as he readied to balls, just for his own entertainment "Looking for something?"

"For you." Replied Alexander eager, this made the man laugh; Victor interrupted as he smiled and talked to him "We're looking for, the 'Inquisitor'."

"Does he owe you money, or you searching to settle a score with him?" asked back the man as he hit the balls once more, this time, scoring 4 out of the 9 balls in play.

"Not really."

He stopped playing and made a slight courtesy as if a jester "I'm, the 'Inquisitor' my friends." He said recognizing the medals that Victor and Alexander carried "What can this, retired Paladin, do for you?"

"Perhaps lend us your services, to a new organization, the Crusaders of Justice." The Inquisitor simply chuckled as if finding it funny and staring at Victor and Alexander "We offer you a chance to make a difference, and get your…revenge."

The Inquisitor got quiet very soon, as he was focused on the ball number 8, it was far from being scored in one single hit, and yet, in one swift movement, the Inquisitor scored it on his socket, smirking back at his guests "I'm listening...Boss."

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><p><strong>All that said, I think I'm going to be taking out the format of the sneak peeks, I'm finding them rather restraining, because I might have some idea to get the story going and then am much better one can come up and well, it make it harder to actually keep things coming steadily; UNLESS the chapter is indeed set and established to happen as I planned. Anyways, thanks again for your time AND SPECIALLY YOUR PATIENCE, I know I have been slacking off like a certain Slifer Red that didn't made cameos today, but hopefully I will be keeping up now updates once or twice a week, or weekly. If you liked the story, please do let me a review, until next time and hope you have a great time! Sorry again heh.<strong>


	11. Episode 11: Puppets of a Scheme

**And who would tell that I had enough time to make another chapter for this week? I didn't think it would come out, but I managed to get it done since yesterday, it finally hit me how to work this one around. Anyways, this chapter will deal more on the matter of pinning against each other the Paladins and the Crusaders. Now, the role of the Crusaders is kind of like, a hero gone rough so to speak, their objective is noble, but their ways questionable, they do have different ways of thinking and are FAR more aggressive than the Paladins, as you could see from last chapter. Then, we have the Paladins, more traditional, honorable, but the ways they want to accomplish their goals is rather schematic, wishing to preserve as low as possible the losses on both sides; this is the key difference, Crusaders worry only about their kin. Now, going on with the Inquisitor, no, he won't have a name, why? He discarded it when the Paladins 'betrayed' him. He is meant to be like, a combination of numerous sarcastic, cynical, dreadful villains of fiction, like the Joker from DC (just gonna let you try and guess which Joker he was based on) , Hazama from BlazBlue, and Ashnard from Fire Emblem Path of Radiance. In this chapter though, he shows more traits of a certain mad clown, it will be easy which version was his inspiration.**

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><p><strong>LightLord92: This is Yu-Gi-Oh! 5'Ds Paladins of Light – Eternal Bonds, Episode 11: Puppets of a Scheme!<br>Rafael: I wonder what you mean with puppets and if it has any relevance with today's chapter.  
>LightLord92: Just focus on the story guys, please.<strong>

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><p>It was late at night; Alexander was leaving a bar on the downtown as he sighed, smirking at the thought of finally putting an end to the traditional Paladins, and a new order rising in the name of the Crusaders of Justice. He had always been resentful of the code of the Paladins, no fame, no glory, no money, and yet he couldn't believe that when he was a kid they were his heroes and he always looked up at them. He craved that attention of being a hero, and the rewards, yet the point of view of the Paladins was very, platonic so to speak, very idealistic. He was heading back to his apartment, even more resentful to the way Rafael's father was with those that dared break the code. And yet, working with Victor now, he felt something big was about to start, he was glad to be part of it but more because he would finally start earning money and get rid of the Fiends once and for all. A silly grin was widening on his face as some hours later he was reaching his house.<p>

He went inside, attending a call of a woman, apparently some client of his, she was desperate for help and Alexander was very well hooked on lending his services for the right price or favors; if one was to measure the level of corruption in the Paladins, Alexander would be the 1st place on the list, he didn't care to make those movements under the water anymore, he was bold enough to do it on the face of everyone. So immersed in the call, he didn't realize his house's lock had been forced open, he simply went in and finished the call, as he threw his things to the couch and was about to relax until he heard something upstairs "What in the" he said, standing up and heading upstairs immediately; his room was empty, it was then that he turned back to the farthest room, a studio like room, a light coming out of it.

"Freeze!" he barged in bravely, fists ready to strike if he had the need, but no one was inside. He looked around trying to calm down, but still nervous as he saw the computer turned, his eyes widened and he gasped as he saw a message reporting a download of a backup completed.

"It is terrifying right? That every bad thing you've done up until now, is now in possession of someone else." Said a voice behind him; Alexander turned around to try and hit the invader, but with no success as he was blocked and jabbed to the ribs. The intruder was a man slightly tall, encased in black clothes, and with a dragon-like helmet with a dark blue eye cover, not letting Alexander try to identify the attacker "This is my only warning, stop or I will have to go to further lengths. The Shadow Avenger is watching." He said jumping off the window and escaping in the night.

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><p>The following day in the morning things were rather calmed; back on Satellite, Yusei and Sara were having breakfast as Jill and Crow were still sleeping upstairs. Sara turned the TV on to watch some news and the first thing they saw, a special bulletin handed by Angela, the blonde woman that had tried interviewing both Jack and Goodwin in the past incidents "…included in numerous illicit activities, such as blackmailing, kidnaps, threats made to families or small business, extortions, and many other things. As such and found guilty of this, CEO Alexander Carter" a picture of him appearing beside her in the screen, the man that was Victor and they stumbled with on the ball "was taken into custody by Sector Security until further proof and evidences allow for a trial to take place; these where the words of Director Rafael when the situation unfolded." Immediately a recording of a press conference made by Rafael was aired in screen as he stood in front of Sector Security's Bureau.<p>

"It is disheartening that a big executive and owner of one of the major industries in technology, software, maintenance and management of information like _Carter's SoftTech Base_, has been caught involved in illicit activities. Sector Security will still show our conviction and tolerance to those under suspect of criminal activity, and as such, until further evidence is provided he will remain here."

Afterwards Angela continued on, adding that this evidence had been left on Sector Security early in the morning and that by the time they got to Alexander, he was babbling something about a dragon-like masked vigilante; and then she continued with the daily new; Yusei and Sara were surprised and turned to each other "Do you think those claims are just the jobs he has been doing for the Paladins?"

Sara shook her head in disagreement as she thought a moment "Not likely. It is really hard for a Paladin to accumulate that many fouls to the code without being noticed or suspended indefinitely." She gave it a thought ore and finally she got a better idea "Most likely, these had gone underwater, but someone brought it to up and now he has to face."

"There are no vigilantes since the times of the Duel Gangs, Kalin, Crow, Jack and I made sure of it. And during the mess with the Dark Signers it was impossible it could have happened." He added now talking about this supposed vigilante that appeared for the first time; Sara then felt a strange jolt on her mind, but shook her head not thinking it likely "Something amiss?"

"No, not at all." She replied, a bit confused on what she saw in her vision through her powers.

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><p>As the day went on, by afternoon all charges had been filled in and Alexander was left free under a bail payment. Alexander was finally let go of Sector Security, and he was quite humiliated. He had been stripped of his position as the head of his own company and now, at just one failed movement, he could be jailed in for real this time. He met with Victor again on a café, were most of the people were surprised to see him but decided to pay no mind "What was all that about?" asked Victor coldly as Alexander took seat, obviously pissed off.<p>

"What?" he replied in a grave cold and loud tone, to which Victor's eyes narrowed in a way to let him know to watch his tone with him "I got screwed ok? Someone barged in my house last night, hacked into my personal server and stole information about me and"

"That's why I've told you to watch where you put that info." He whispered, as to let him know that it was better to keep their tone low so to not alert eavesdroppers or drag unwanted attention "I paid a huge amount to keep at bay Sector Security just for today, you owe me big this time. What about the other plans?"

Alexander was enraged now, if there was something he hated the most, was depending on others; he took his time sipping some water of his glass and replied "Nothing. That info is not there."

Victor took a deep breath and looked back at his apprentice "So, who is this 'Shadow Avenger'? A fanatic, someone meddling, a Paladin, a traitor."

"I don't know." Replied Alexander still angry with himself and all this matter "But that son of a- I will find him and I will kill him with my bare hands if needed." Again, Alexander got scolded by Victor with one of his piercing gazes; if Alexander was afraid, Victor surely was much worse than the looks could let see "I'll find him."

"No." replied Victor finishing his glass of water and looking back at Alexander "it's too late for the Paladins to do anything against us. But, our new friend thinks of a way to take away the attention from us." Alexander sighed as he understood where Victor was going at; he hated babysitting, it was the worst thing in the world for him, and much more for this Inquisitor "Tonight, 9 pm, the usual place."

"How can you trust him blindly?" asked Alexander back, obviously glaring as Victor stood up and readied to leave "We don't even know his real name."

"Is there a need? We have the same goal. He will be useful…for now." Whispered back Victor leaving Alexander alone; he simply left moments later, crashing and swearing at the whole mess. Unaware to both of them, above hidden in the buildings a man had been watching and listening to them ever since Alexander left the Bureau, disappearing once more.

That night, at the farthest areas of New Domino City, Alexander was standing guard, as the Inquisitor was collecting materials and some provisions "What do we need all of this for?" he asked impatiently, an hour and a half had already passed by and the inquisitor seemed pretty much lost in taking small things from his vaults "HEY!"

"Oh come on, you don't have to shout, else you'll give us out." Added the Inquisitor smiling deviously as he walked off the house with the vaults "Well, you see, it's the simple things that count."

"The hell you mean?" asked Alexander pissed off and annoyed as he could be "What in the world is going on through your head, I wonder."

"Oh but that's the funny thing. If you knew it, you'd either…get smarter" he said cheering up his companion "or you'd go crazy, completely mad. It's a 50-50 chance I'd say." With nothing more coming from his companion, the Inquisitor just chuckled "Oh come on, no need to be so serious."

"How you got in this mess?" asked Alexander as he was trying to calm his patience down.

"You see, I've always found the code of the Paladins…senseless, too technical…so…boring, like an orchestrated plan of destiny." He said packing up a few things on the car again, as he then threw aside some remaining toys and clothes "The stupidest of them, putting my life on the line…on a duel; man, I'm not even a skilled duelist, and I'm sure I don't want it to decide if I live or not, would you?"

Alexander didn't answer for a moment, as he was finding this a tendency in the Crusaders as well given the situation on Paris "That's how I was taught to face the fiends."

The Inquisitor chuckled, almost mockingly as Alexander was growing tired of him "Heh, well, if you feel comfortable…putting your hands in some hogwash and foolish prophecy of destiny, that's your choice…I choose, for a chance" he said smiling as he remembered the first time he was taken in Paladin custody after a mission, he had killed the human link that wanted a duel, but the Inquisitor denied it and barehanded, beat the victim to death "choose to take MY life, in my hands."

"That's what we do, but aiming to eliminate the Spirit World once and for all."

"But, by a duel…and luck is not fair at all heh." Added the Inquisitor as he stood up "When everything is part of a plan, you don't get surprised, and actually, the plans your boss has, they also seem too boring as well. Just you wait, there's always something that turns plans heads-downs." After a little while, the Inquisitor finally finishes gearing up his things and smiles "All of this is needed to send a message. Regarding your problems, who do you and your boss think could get the upper hand if you two were under suspicion?" The answer escaped him, the man didn't had the complexion of their enemy, but he then gritted his teeth in anger "You see it now, maybe it wasn't him, but Rafael surely is behind the Shadow Avenger."

"And what you plan to do with him?"

The Inquisitor only laughed grinning widely, almost madly "Just leave that to me. I can be…very persuasive." He added as he let go a deep sigh, almost in relaxation for himself "Anyway, you can go, I'm finished here." Alexander was rather dumbfounded and simply shrugged, being this close to the man was starting to get to him and he couldn't bear it any longer and just left without saying a word back to Inquisitor "Heh, rookies, they know nothing." He remained standing a moment and simply smirked "You know it is rather…discourteous to eavesdrop on a conversation you're not invited, but hey be my guest now."

Said that, the man that attacked Alexander on his house jumped off a building down to the floor, staring back intently at the Inquisitor "So it was you who they depend on now huh?" said the Shadow Avenger with his arms crossed while the Inquisitor just chuckled back as if nothing had happened "Tell me, what do the Crusaders plan to do." He simply dashed forward jabbing his fist at the vigilante who dodged it barely, continually blocking strike and jab after each other, not fighting back.

"Heh, no fun when you don't fight back!" added the Inquisitor doing a low sweep, knocking down his opponent and pinning him down with his foot, as he knelt pressing more on his chest and intensity, then releasing him and stepping around as he was readying to leave on a motorcycle "I know you're not giving it your all, but perhaps, someday, you might." He added laughing as he turned the engine on and prepared to leave "Know this and tell your boss! I know no bounds and I'm a mad dog let loose now!" he was gone in the night, as the Shadow Avenger stood up, turning on some gear on his helmet that was tracking the Inquisitor, all of it just to be able to follow up this man, as he seemed far more unstable than what the Paladins were aware of, in his mind, only one thought repeating itself "_Victor and Alexander made a deal with a monster, they don't know or understand this crazy man._"

* * *

><p>Later on, by the downtown of Satellite, Yusei was talking Sara, along with Jill and Crow, by the look of things in a double date, the group looked merry and happily enjoying a night in company of some friends. Sara every now and then talked about how her life had been in America, and how it was much better staying here, even if she missed her family; Yusei and Crow were talking more on the mechanic side of Duel Runners, it was their specialty after all, but they also added to the childhood part even when they had grown in Satellite, Jill joined them and they all remarked how having at least a place to stay and people they cared for, was more than enough to have a sense of being home, it had been a long day but quite enjoyable, though Sara and Yusei still felt a bit nervous around each other, adding up to the teasing of their friends.<p>

"It is getting late already, maybe we should head back home." Said Yusei as they began going out of the restaurant they spent their dinner time in. They headed back walking to Martha's place; it wasn't really that far away, nevertheless they still were in group. Making a turn at a still dark area of Satellite, unknown to them, one man was starting to follow them. As they were getting closer to the park, Crow and Yusei nodded at each other, confusing both Sara and Jill a moment "Guys, is something the matter?" asked Sara trying to look back until Yusei took her by her hand, she blushed a bit but when she noticed his expression, she understood something.

"It was only one man one street behind, now there are 3." Whispered Crow as Jill and Sara finally caught up to what was going, as they all kept walking a while more towards Martha's place but then making a detour, not wanting to lead problems to the house.

"Let them come at us, I can kick them if" said Jill until Crow shook his head.

Sara closed her eyes a moment, trying to reach her power and catch a glimpse of what they wanted "They…this is odd." She said, the particular mind of one of them confusing her "One of them…is very calmed, relaxed, more over…I sense a particular murky part of his mind…" she said then gasping as she opened her eyes.

"What happened Sara?" asked Yusei as he looked back, trying to see if doing so would scare them away, but no avail, and now they knew that things could get troublesome with these guys.

"He pushed me away…he got me out of his mind…that takes years and a lot of training to do."

"That's right, Lady Sara." Finally spoke the man behind them, stepping in to a streetlight and smirking at the 4 duelists, it was the Inquisitor "Good to know your skills still work, though I admit, I'm disappointed it took you so long." He added laughing between his teeth as his colleagues waited behind him.

"Who are you?" asked Sara surprised, she was about to ask how he knew her, but contained herself, not wanting to give more info to them as the 4 remained standing, Yusei and Crow taking a step forward to protect them.

"Oh, I see now." Replied the Inquisitor smirking as he was about to snap his fingers, but stopped a moment "The gentlemen think they can protect the ladies. How gallant indeed, I since a bit of an" he added thinking a moment and smirking when he saw them, reading their movements only "Hmm, the orange haired guy, must be Crow Hogan, owner of the Blackwing Deck" he added then staring at Jill when Crow gritted his teeth "then the red haired lady would be Jill Fizzart, daughter to…" he stopped snapping his fingers thinking until it hit him again "Amelia Fizzart, and actual owner of the legendary Emblem Deck; I also notice you and Crow have feelings for each other, ah, so is the love of youth." He shrugged as if it was nothing serious, but his knowledge was actually very disturbing, and even so he kept on "Then we have Lady Sara, right hand to the actual Paladin Leader Rafael, not to say his ex, and I see you quickly grew fond of someone who might be answering back that feeling, right Yusei Fudo? Son of Dr. Fudo, who worked on the Ener-D Reactor Project until its catastrophic incident; it was a tragedy for sure."

"Ok then…you made yourself clear." Said Yusei stepping ahead once more "What do you want?"

He smirked back, then laughing madly behind his teeth, taunting them; he wasn't bragging at all "Oh but there's more still"

"We asked who you are, you creepy" said Jill as she stopped with the laughter of the Inquisitor, still not revealing who he was to them "What's so funny?! Leave us now or else"

"Or else you will call the cops? Come on! Don't take things seriously!" he replied still messing with them, making them prey of his game "No, you're not funny either, first those Crusaders, then the Avenger, now you people too?" he took in a deep breath as his comrades looked rather scared, when the Inquisitor took on again his calmed demeanor "Who I am, holds no meaning right now. I was just wondering if you people, enjoy fireworks?" he asked crossing his arms.

The question was very out of place for Yusei and his friends, it wasn't normal and didn't made sense what this man was trying to prove or get to "What's wrong with you pal?" asked Crow as he was, for the first time, feeling completely uncomfortable with what the game.

"Oh, you know, I just wanted to know because well, there will be a show in about" he added looking at his watch, which had a digital timer counting down on 5 minutes "Some 5 minutes, yes 5 minutes." He then looked back at the group, staring then at Sara intently "You never heard of me, did you?" he said, knowing Sara was trying to get on his mind, simply recalling himself the memories for her to get them.

Sara gasped again when they appeared on her mind, shivering a bit shaking her head "It can't be…"

"Sara!" shouted Yusei concerned for her as she was trembling now. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he was sure this man was responsible of it.

"Inquisitor…we thought you were gone…"

"Clearly not." He start laughing again as he was now toying with Sara, making her remember the events with the Archfiend Prince, as she was groaning when she knelt in the floor "But I'm grateful you do remember me, we never met but I had heard you're quite a skilled duelist, and clairvoyant so to speak."

"Stop this at once! Let her alone!" said Yusei as he rushed to the Inquisitor, trying to punch them, but he swiftly dodged, without retaliating as his colleagues broke up and ran away. Yusei gasped in surprise, and then proceeded to try a jab with his elbow, again, missing as the Inquisitor dodged.

"Now, no need to go crazy Mr. Fudo." He said as his clock was down to a minute "That comes later, we're almost at the time of the fireworks, so why don't you enjoy the show?"

"That's it, you're in troubles pal!" added Crow as he tried tagging with Yusei but to no avail as he also was missing, only to be pushed back by the Inquisitor who was laughing at them clearly.

Finally, it happened. When the Inquisitor's timer reached 0, Yusei and his group turned back to a thunderous sound, a still under construction building of Sector Security exploding, as citizens of the neighboring areas frantically ran around trying to get away, not knowing what was going on. The Inquisitor just sighed in disappointment as he turned his back on Yusei's group, still chuckling while Sara barely recovered, the connection broken between her mind and that of the Inquisitor's "Oh shame, it wasn't as big as I had planned."

"What?!" they replied in unison, not believing for a second that he confessed to them what was going on.

"Anyways" added the Inquisitor throwing of a small device to them, smirking "do me a favor will you guys? Tell Rafael, that this is my first move. I will be anxiously waiting for his." He added with a now dreadful and frightening grin on his face. Finished with his business, he just left without a warning, as Sector Security officers arrived with the firemen, trying to control the situation.

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><p>Not too long after that, Sara, Yusei, Crow and Jill were at Martha's place after having said everything they knew to Agent Yamato; Alexis, Jaden, Jack, Leo, Luna, and Akiza had reunited at the house with them to try and see what was going on in Satellite. Then, Akio, Azura, and Lily arrived as well surprising them, apparently they had gotten a message from Rafael to meet with them and that he would soon be there to discuss what was happening, even though Sara already had an idea but she wanted to see if Rafael was indeed opening up to her and their friends.<p>

Finally, after interviews and questioning of the situation, Rafael arrived with Mina, looking very serious himself, obviously containing his anger to some point "Sorry for the tardiness." He added as they all gathered, taking a deep breath and letting it go in a sigh, as he calmed down from the ruckus out there.

"Rafael, what is going on?" asked Yusei, still beside Sara as she was barely calming down from the trick the Inquisitor had played on her; he explained them what occurred when he met them, to which everyone listened carefully, very astonished themselves.

"I think you have an explanation to give now." Added Jack in his usual manner.

"Many years ago" Rafael started explaining to them, arms crossed and feeling to blame for the mess "when my father was still alive, the Paladins of Light were discussing how to deal with the more and more often incursions of the fiends in our world. The Council of Lords, which are the heads of the individual divisions, had an argument on this, waiting to do as the prophecy foretold, or" he added sighing, according to what Aster had told him as well "choosing to annihilate the Realm of Beasts."

"But that's madness!" Jaden immediately stepped up, this was classified info in the Paladin ranks, and only the Commander had the decision of sharing it as he saw fit "If they destroyed that world, it would bring consequences to our own!"

"But also, why should all of them pay for what only a tribe is doing?" asked Luna innocently, feeling in her shoulder the spirit of Kuribon "Would they really resort…to get rid of that whole world?"

"I'm afraid that was the plan. But my father convinced a majority to reconsider." Continued Rafael as he turned to Sara, her father being one of those that changed his mind, as well as two more members "Victor, a strong supporter of the faction that suggested erasing the Spirit World which is also the Realm of Beasts, suggested that the Paladins used a forbidden technique, to forge a weapon that, brandished in their world, would corrupt it from within, and destroy it in a matter of days. My father, along with Sara's, and Jill's mother, knew that such an act would be cruel and heartless, going completely against the code of the order. It was a clash of wills, for a whole week, until finally, a majority voted on discarding the ritual and continuing to seek the fiends to stop them."

They all remained silent, as Luna sighed in relief happily, while Jaden was calming down a bit more, but there was still no real answer to the problem at hand, until Rafael continued "From that day on, the Paladins of Light have been in constant discussions from within. Members were outdoing their jobs, going to extremes of killing or torturing the spirits of monsters, or humans even, to stop the invasion; others began charging quite high fees to do the work they had sworn in oath to follow. My father left in some books for me that, there was a growing faction ever since that day, that would do anything, ANYTHING, to put an end to the war, no matter the price, no matter the sacrifices."

Mina then put on the recording of what Aster had sent them yesterday. Everyone in the room gasped in surprise at the amount of information collected from the experiments, as well as how the Paladins were involved "The faction exists, and as of late, have been growing considerably, to the point of making their move on."

"To conquer the Paladins." Said Yusei as Sara shook her head and stood up finally, looking at all that information. Her father had warned her to be careful of other Paladins, she never understood why, until now.

"To destroy us, the Spirit World…and hold the world, on an Iron Fist." She said, to which Rafael nodded seriously.

"My friends, all of us in here." he said looking at each of them, knowing that this was just the beginning "I hate to drag you into this, but happened tonight, it's just the beginning. I won't force you to join my cause, it wouldn't be fair. That's why I leave you to choose whether or not, you want to help me in this matter."

It didn't take long until Jaden smiled making his usual gotcha sign "Count me in! We're going to save the world, once more!" Alexis laughed a bit, then nodding "We've went through worse before, so we will see what the Crusaders can do about us."

"We go too, we're Paladins all the way to the end." Added Akio, as Lily and Azura nodded as well.

"Humph, I bet you will be needing the raw power." Said Jack with a grin wide on his face "I'll see what these, Crusaders, have to offer."

"Count me in then! If Jack goes, my Blackwings will help stop those punks!" Crow added in determination.

"Like my mother, I will do my best to fight the threats ahead." Jill added confident.

"Power Tool Dragon will teach them who's the boss!" Leo said punching a bit, as Luna sighed, but smiled at the spirit of her twin brother "I will help to, if the Spirit World is in need, I will lend a hand."

"I hope my psychic powers can be of assistance. I'm in as well." Akiza added looking at Yusei and Sara.

Yusei stared at Rafael a short moment and smiled warmly "If we stick together and help each other, there is no stopping us. You don't need to ask me what my position is in this matter. I will do my best to protect my friends and the city."

Mina nodded simply back, not wanting to say anything for now, Rafael closed his eyes, happy, it felt different and now, he could tell the Paladins had a greater force to back them up "Thank you, everyone." He said looking a moment at Sara, who had a strange feeling of warmness, what kept her quiet though, were two things, the memory of the Inquisitor facing the Shadow Avenger, there was something in that memory that made her worry, but also on the bright side, she could feel the bonds between the Signers and the Paladins growing far stronger than anyone could have predicted. This last bit made her happy, and pointed forward to a brighter future.

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><p>Once again, at the meeting point of the Crusaders far from the city, the Inquisitor had just barged in, laughing as the Crusaders looked at him in discontent "What, you didn't like the show I put up?"<p>

Alexander stood up furiously as he took him by his coat's neck, pinning him against the wall "You fool! You've let the whole world know about us!"

"Now…take it easy boy." Threatened back the Inquisitor, as Alexander let him go "First of all, you should be grateful I did that. Sector Security will be minding where they stick their noses in. Secondly, you all agreed to my methods."

"Why you piece of trash!"

"Alexander, calm down!" shouted Victor as he entered, along with a mysterious man covered in a hood; Alexander did as he was told, mocked again by the Inquisitor as he barked at him "Interesting job Inquisitor, I enjoyed those fireworks, but next time, keep them at a minimum."

"Like I said, my methods." He then glared at the crusaders in the building there were about 50, and he knew the operation they had was bigger than that "I don't duel like you fools, I don't wager my life on something as childish as a duel."

"Well, I trust your judgment my friend." Replied Victor as he stared at his guest "He did his part, are you willing to make yours, my friend?"

The man didn't reply immediately, he simply chuckled as he crossed his arms, dirty and rather bruised, as if he had been for months on the streets "So long as I have Yusei and Rafael…and you keep your part."

"Yes, you and your duelists when you recover them will have a place in our merry band." replied Victor eagerly as he put his hand on the man's shoulder "We have a place for duelists with your…psychic skills." The Inquisitor simply laughed madly as the man and Victor shook hands, sealing the deal. The stage was set, now it all required was, that the actors took their roles and performed their play, until the end.

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><p><strong>LightLord92: Next time, on Paladins of Light – Eternal Bonds! Yes today we do have a sneak peek!<br>Sara: We are getting ready to face the trials ahead, the Envoys, and Reginald, are still out there; now the Crusaders as well.  
>Yusei: But we will be ready for anything! This time however, a mysterious duelist is attacking citizens.<br>Akiza: They are blaming me again on this…they say the Black Rose Witch attacked them…but I haven't let loose my powers!  
>Shadow Avenger: Akiza, guys, this is the work of the Crusaders. I will do what I can to help.<br>Sara: Wait, who are you?!  
>Yusei: No time for questions! We have to clean Akiza's name! All this and more on our next episode! Episode 12 – A Ghost from the Past, Saving a Friend!<strong>

**Mystery man: You don't belong to this world Akiza; you must go back, to the one that gave you a purpose.  
>Akiza: No! My place is with my friends! I am not that person anymore!<br>LightLord92: Hope you enjoyed today's chapter, and until next time duelists! Oh by the way, I'll be taking on some of the new cards to add and make new decks, but modifying effects from monsters that involve XYZ or Pendulum effects. Until next time, see you guys!**


	12. Episode 12: Ghost from the Past

**Very well, this chapter took a bit more of a challenge to make, but well, next one you can pretty much see what it will be about. Furthermore, this one can kind of be…foreshadowing, or even easy to read where it will be heading. But I still hope you enjoy the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Anyways, onwards with today's chapter! Oh, but before that, special news to any Fire Emblem fans out there, well two notices actually: Firstly, new game coming up this year on the series, the 14****th**** installment! And lastly, for the same fans, if you're interested and have some time to spare, I have another fanfic I've been working on, a rewrite of the last game (Awakening) with some major modifications here and there, that I'd love to hear opinion's on it. Then again, it is only if you're interested, most by now are asking surely why would I be promoting a Fire Emblem fanfic, on a Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfic huh? Well, that's just me haha, anyways, let's continue and get on with the newest episode of Paladins of Light!**

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><p><strong>LightLord92: Coming up next, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's – Paladins of Light: Eternal Bonds, Episode 12: A Ghost from the Past, Saving a Friend! Oh and who is Seria? She appeared on the first volume, but I didn't create her, she comes from the 5D's DS games.<strong>

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><p>A few days barely passed since the incident at Satellite; the building was still under construction and that no one was working on it when it blew up; however, many of the buildings in the surrounding areas had been engulfed in the chaos, some people were moved to the General Hospital in New Domino City to make sure they recovered pretty soon, some other houses and businesses had been reached by the engulfing flames and damaged by the explosion itself. Satellite and New Domino City were calming down a bit, for Lazar had given an excuse that the explosion was caused because of a mistake made by recently hired workers in the area, and blame put on the reports of the supposed vigilante called the Shadow Avenger, based on security camera's recordings; since then, the Crusaders and the main branch of Paladins apparently are in a truce.<p>

Akiza was walking out of her class, talking with some of the other students, but finding that some of them were rather distant from her, muttering among them. She seemed confused and concerned of this, until she arrived at the main grounds to have a chat with her two best friends, the red haired Sakura, and the brunette haired Mei "Oh, hey Akiza." Said Mei smiling as she stood up to hug her friend, Sakura simply smiling as she was happy to see her.

Sakura then stared at Akiza, but was rather worried of the odd expression that their friend had "You seem a bit uneasy Akiza, is something amiss?"

"I don't know." She shrugged a moment, then taking a seat with them and giving it a thought "It wasn't until recently today that some people have started, taking their distance." She then overheard one of the other students talking about the last attack of the duelist in Daimon area, she remembered that place very well, it was where she brought up chaos on other duelists with her psychic skills, but the name of the duelist that was attacking others there was what caught her off-guard. Furthermore, Sakura and Mei looked at each other rather concerned; Akiza sighed and just stayed with them "Did I miss something in the news?"

"Well…"said Sakura, looking at another road, barely able to find an excuse.

Mei sighed deeply, taking from her bag the newspapers of the day and handing it to Akiza "Just promise me you won't freak out ok?" she asked of her before giving to Akiza the newspaper until the latter nodded.

She held it with both her hands, and then, a gasp escaped her mouth at the header of a story in the main page 'The Black Rose Blooms Again'; it was an article on reported isolated attacks on citizens on different areas of Daimon and the Outer Rim of New Domino City "It can't be… 'Witnesses reported that the assailant was a slightly tall person, seemingly a woman by her figure and voice, wearing a white mask…"

"That could harness real shape and strength of her holograms, attacking innocents in diverse areas of the Outer Rim and Daimon areas. Oddly enough, this last one was the spot of the widely known Black Rose Witch, now full-time student Akiza Izinski.'" Said Mei obviously pissed off, but not at Akiza, but rather the story "You shouldn't pay any mind to this, it is completely biased on bringing back to surface the fear of psychic duelists even though Arcadia is gone."

"Mei…the thing is they claim this woman is posing as the Black Rose Witch…" Akiza said shaking her head a moment, obviously distressed "It has been quite some time now since I last heard that name; I had casted it away, hopefully forever."

Sakura helped her friend smiling and cheering her up "Then you have nothing to fear. Furthermore, Mei's father is making an investigation to clean your name from these reports."

"Yeah, if someone is going to find the truth, it would be my dad and Director Rafael." added Mei to comfort her, knowing that she was friends with him. This made her chuckle lightly, but at least it was something much better than having her looking down "Everything will be fine, I know it will."

"Thanks girls." She replied happily, but still concerned of it; it wasn't a very well-known story mostly because both Satellite and New Domino City still demanded for answers and progress on the bomb incident "By the way, do you think you should openly say that your father is investigating this?"

Mei giggled back smiling "Oh, I assure you, he has a many more things to worry about than that." She added with a thumbs up at Akiza, to which she simply shook her head slightly laughing to let her friends calm down "Come on, you know me better than this Akiza. I mean no harm; it's just that indeed Sector Security is very busy now."

"In part, also the reason why these attacks have gone unnoticed without much attention." Added Akiza, still looking at the supposed sketch of the person based on the description of the recent witnesses, the mask she used on the Fortune Cup actually, still making her doubt and wonder "I just worry about…"

"That those culprits are coming for you?" asked Mei referring to the Arcadia Movement. It was obvious she was thinking of it, if the Dark Signers had returned when the Underworld King was defeated, maybe Sayer could have come back, along with any other stragglers or fugitives of Arcadia Movement.

Akiza turned serious and smiled to her friends, this time more confidence in her expression "Don't worry, I won't let them get to me easily, and I will fight whatever they try to attempt." this indeed helped calm down her friends, who simply giggled back at her.

"By the way, how is everything with Yusei going Akiza?" asked Mei trying to tease their friend who blushed a moment and started stuttering trying to explain that they were only friends, to which Mei and Sakura laughed a bit "Oh calm down, but well, you know, he's handsome, the hero of the city and YOUR personal knight in shining armor as I last heard."

"MEI!" shouted Akiza catching the attention of a many other students around them.

"Sorry, maybe overdid it." said Mei giggling still a bit, as Akiza sighed in disappointment, shaking her head.

Akiza didn't reply, still blushing lightly as the girls began heading back to classes, until they were closer to the main building she finally muttered "We're till spending some time together, but it is really odd when it's the three of us." Finally Mei and Sakura laughed a bit at the worries of Akiza, knowing now that he was leaving aside the other topic.

Far from them, at a building in the surroundings of the Academy, a figure was watching Akiza through high-tech visors, fixated on her literally, following her every step and catching her every emotion, besides the figure, was a notebook with many notes written on it, they were Akiza's schedules within the Academy, as well as the route she took to head back home, the places she often visited, even who she went off with; the figure smirked and chuckled, a male tone coming from the sound as he looked down at her "Soon, everything will be as it should be."

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><p>Classes continued to go as usual until the end of them, as soon as the bell rang, Akiza and her friends went on a car of Akiza's father that would take them to Martha's place, since Sakura and Mei insisted on visiting them and try and talk with them about the situation, needless to say they wanted to push Akiza a bit more on talking with Yusei. The three of them were quite surprised of the bridge connecting Satellite and New Domino City, as well as how Satellite was evolving so quickly now. The citizens were more comfortable now, as nothing serious resulted from the explosion that Sara and Yusei witnessed, and yet, Akiza had a feeling that there was something more working up still.<p>

It wasn't long until they arrived at Martha's place, Yusei was outside working on with Crow on their Duel Runners, as the children that Martha was taking care of were running around playing and staying by a little games that Yusei and Crow built for them with teeterboards and swing seats as Sara attended to them happily; she turned around and smiled waving her hand at Akiza and her friends.

"Nice of you to come by Akiza." She said smiling a moment, greeting their guests

"Hello Sara. We thought of coming by and make a visit, hope we're not interrupting." She said as Jill was just getting out of the house and calling both Yusei and Crow to join them.

"Akiza, nice to see you around." Said Yusei wiping off some sweat and dirt from working on their runners, he wasn't wearing his usual jacket, just the black shirt he always had underneath; Sara giggled a bit at the reaction of Akiza, it was of the few times she had seen her blush a bit and she knew it immediately.

"We're just passing by Yusei." said Mei very eager "Actually, Akiza and us wanted to talk with you and Sara about something." Yusei was rather caught off-guard, nodding and taking them inside. As it was usual of Martha, she prepared a few snacks for the group as Yusei and Sara were sitting across each other, Akiza by the side of Yusei and to her right both Mei and Sakura, as Mei started explaining about the recent attacks to them.

"So, that's what has the city rather bothered now huh?" asked Yusei thinking a moment.

"Yes, my father thinks he might have a lead, but only the Director seems to support him." She added as Akiza looked serious again "The man that kept Akiza away from her family, he is the only reasonable suspect, but"

"But given that Sayer had been taken by the Earthbound Immortal, it is rather unlikely he is responsible of it." said Yusei trying to figure out what who this person could be "It couldn't be him, could he?"

"I wouldn't be so sure." Sara said thinking for a moment "True, he had been swallowed by the Earthbound Immortal, but, if we look at it from the point of view where those 'killed' by them in the duel, went to the Underworld, it is safe to assume that Sayer could have come back as well." These words were real problems if what Sara was saying proved to be real. Kalin, Misty, Carly, they all came back when the Earthboun Immortals, in which Shadow Duels whoever lost was consumed by the Shadow Realm, by the Underworld, death "I hope I'm making a mistake or an odd assumption, but it is a possibility."

Yusei nodded looking back at Akiza "Keeping that in mind, didn't Rafael mention that there were still remnants of the Arcadia Movement around?" Mei nodded.

"Yes, my father told me that they are no threat, well at least those that registered and opted for a better life." Replied Mei as she recalled her father and several Sector Security members doing so.

"That would mean, perhaps it's a different psychic duelist?" asked Sakura, to which Akiza shook her head answering no; she had been with Sayer in the recruiting phase of Arcadia Movement.

"No, when Sayer had me under his control, I accompanied him to push the limits of a many duelists he believed were psychic duelists. We traveled all over the city but never finding anyone else." She added then gasping as she stood from her chair "But…" they all knew what she was about to say now.

"Satellite!" they all shouted in unison, but Sara still had a strange feeling.

"Guys, I think it would be better we left it there." She said scratching the back of her head a bit doubtful "We're just jumping to conclusions and we have no way to prove them."

"It would be for the best indeed." Added Yusei, Akiza and her friends decided staying a bit more, but Akiza still had some doubts herself. She stood by the entrance to Martha's home, as she was still thoughtful.

"These news bothered you a lot right?" asked Sara as she walked and stayed by her side, leaning over the handrail; Akiza nodded a moment but pulling of a smile.

"It's ok, I supposed that returning to my real self" she said looking up at the sky a moment "wouldn't be that easy at all. My past will be hunting me down until I can finally overcome it."

"But you don't have to do it alone, not anymore." Added Sara smiling at her, trying to cheer her up "You've got the Paladins, and the Signers, your family, friends. We all care for you Akiza." She replied nodding a moment, Sara closed her eyes a moment, as she was trying to use her powers, Akiza looking curiously at her "This trial before you…it's the last step you will have to make, to let go of your past."

"How can you know that?" she asked, then remembering that Yusei told her that some Paladins, namely Rafael and Sara so far, had developed special traits besides dueling skills.

"A ghost from your past is stalking you, it will be your trust in your friends, what will see the day through." Continued Sara, as she let go a sigh and opened her eyes to look at Akiza "That's all I can see for now. I'm sorry if it's vague…the future is always changing, but that's what I could see."

"It can come in handy I imagine, having abilities like that."

"You have them as well Akiza." replied Sara giggling a moment "My perception tells me that, and it will help you." she added as both ladies continued chatting.

* * *

><p>Far from there, in New Domino City's Daimon Area, the streets were as crowded as usual. This time however, as the sunset was rolling in, the Shadow Avenger was eavesdropping on a suspect he had on the case of the fake Black Rose Witch. He was jumping from ceiling to ceiling as he kept in a close eye on an orange haired woman, wearing a pink reddish coat above a white matching blouse with mid-thigh length skirt and black heels; she had been taken in by Sector Security after the incident at Arcadia Movement and given amnesty so long as she didn't tried rallying the other members. She had finished her turn in her work at the stadium of New Domino City, having an executive position but coming to the Daimon Area, it wasn't usual for she lived by the Fountain Plaza. The Shadow Avenger turned on a com device on his helmet, some static entering as he established contact with his contractor "She's here as you guessed. Should I pursue?"<p>

"No, keep on tracking her." Replied a distorted voice "Seria's been acting oddly recently; I want you to follow her, and if she meets someone, report back immediately."

"Understood, Avenger out." When he finished reporting he looked around and gasped, Seria was nowhere to be seen. The vigilante got annoyed of course, and began jumping from building to building, trying to track her down, but unfortunately nowhere near him. He jumped down one of the alleys, concealing himself in the shadows as he didn't wanted anyone spotting him just yet, that was until he heard a loud scream. Then a crowd of people running away, scared, as if something had happened "Not now." said the avenger as he stepped out of the alley, not caring if Sector Security would be catching up with him or if the citizens thought him a threat.

And he saw what drove the people to run away, a hooded woman standing a slightly at his same height, hooded completely in a dark rose purplish coat, a white mask with the same markings that Akiza's had, not requiring a disk to summon forth the cards she had with her; it was the Black Rose Witch summoning forth a wall of typhoons with water, rising all the way up above the buildings, three of them, shooting one after the other against the markets and stores at high pressure and causing damages to the structures "Stop at this instant!" demanded the Avenger as the Black Rose Witch didn't followed his orders.

"Who dares to step up against the black Rose Witch?" Replied the woman, as the eyes of the mask glowed red, a sound wave headed straight at the avenger, breaking glass and windows all over as the avenger fell to the ground, a small portion of his helmet's glass broken, revealing a brown eye.

Around him, people were scared and very concerned, furthermore a few of them were whispering and muttering if they had heard the name correctly, indeed they heard her refer to herself as the Black Rose Witch; they were terrified and had almost nowhere to run now, the avenger knew he had to do something quick if he was to put an end to the mess "I'll have to force you stand down!" he said, taking a card himself, a trap card, Shadow Spell. It began glowing, as chain after chain headed straight for the fake witch, imprisoning her and breaking her concentration to subdue her, finishing her psychic manifestation "That should do the trick." He said, as the citizens looked at him, some very grateful for his intervention, others still dubious of his true intentions "Now, tell me, who are you?" he said, kneeling down beside the witch, only muffle groans echoing against her mask.

"Ugggh, where…what…" she said, the avenger immediately sighing. Somehow, he knew it wasn't the woman that everyone thought it was, until she began crying out in pain, the eyes of the mask glowing yet again bright red as the witch broke free of the avengers spell.

"What is going on?!" the avenger backed a bit, as the witch summoned forth another of her cards and she simply vanished in the air, as if she had been taken away. Again, he turned on the comm on his helmet "Did you get the audio recording?"

"Yes." Replied the man "Whoever it is, it definitely isn't her. That will be all for now, report back and wait for more instructions then."

"Have it your way." The avenger replied as the citizens were thanking him around "Damn it, I got to get out of here." He thought to himself as he finally heard the sounds of Sector Security runners around, echoing loud "Perfect." He added, as he then aimed for one of the buildings and shot a grapple from his wrist to escape, the night rolling in as Sector Security now had to deal with the rebuilding and reparations of the damages caused on the Daimon Area, night finally rolling in.

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><p>After all the chaos and problems from the day before, New Domino City was quite more hectic the next morning came quickly. Akiza and her friends stayed with Yusei and company for the night without much of a problem; they decided to go with here and do some research on those that had been attacked by the supposed Black Rose Witch, but what they found at the entrance of Duel Academy was something no one had ever thought to see. A wide mob was building up at the gates of the academy, as Yusei and Sara nodded at each other in their runners, knowing something wasn't quite well. Akiza and her friends got off the car and looked puzzled, as they began to move slowly forward when one of the men in the mob reacted to here.<p>

"What is going on?" she asked curious, as her parents arrived rushing, concerned of her as they had received a call "Mom? Dad?"

"Daughter!" said her mother hugging her and keeping her besides her, along with her father "Are you unharmed?"

"We must get out of here before…" said her father when they finally heard someone yelling.

"THE BLACK ROSE WITCH IS THERE!" and the mob turned towards where Akiza was standing with her friends, as the mob was closing in, yelling and shouting at her quite stressful and concerned.

"Don't let her get away!" "Catch her and make her pay!" "She attacked Daimon yesterday!" "She's the only remnant of the psychic duelists!" shouted men and women from all over the mob as they were trying to get Akiza, while Yusei and her parents tried to protect her; Sara was trying to get Akiza out through behind with the help of Mei and Sakura, until finally, sirens of Sector Security began echoing from a distance, as they parked beside the mob and Yusei's group, creating a perimeter around them and trying to calm the mob down; from a van, Mina got down looking at the mob and taking out a hand speaker.

"Everyone calm down! We won't be allowing anyone to put a hand on another citizen of New Domino City, and whoever tries anything funny, will face imprisonment up to 5 months!" she shouted serious as the citizens began calming down, but still shouting that Sector Security took into custody Akiza for the recent attacks. Mina turned around, paying no mind to them and heading to Yusei and his friends "Rafael told me to come here to day and help." She said trying to explain what happened the afternoon "People suspect it was the doing of the Black Rose Witch, Sector Security doesn't support this, but we still have to make sure, where were you yesterday around 4 pm and 6pm Akiza?"

"I was at Yusei's place. We stayed the night there." replied Akiza, staying calm. Her parents confirmed that she had called with the register in their phone, and furthermore Yusei was there himself.

"I can vouch for that, they stayed all night working on their works while visiting and helping us with the children Martha keeps." Said Yusei confident, as the officer took a report, but loud enough so the citizens could listen to them; causing Mina to sigh in relief "She couldn't have been the one attacking the Daimon Area."

Akiza smiled happily, then Mei and Sakura stepped in "We were there ourselves too, Akiza never left." Said Sakura strongly determined "That's right, Akiza couldn't have been the one that attacked! Moreover, have you forgotten she defended the city with the Signers?!" the citizens started mumbling among themselves as Mei chastised them "I thought so, you people seem to forget easily!"

Akiza stepped up then as she pointed for Mei to stop "No, it's ok." She then turned to the citizens, taking in a deep breath "People of New Domino City…I understand your fear. I did…horrible things in the past, but that's not the REAL me anymore!" the mob starting getting quiet, some people walking out, others still remaining "I don't expect immediate forgiveness, but I can promise you that I will not run away from that past anymore."

"I have been working and seen Akiza grow." Said Yusei, as Akiza and her parents looked at the group slowly having a change of heart "Trust me when I tell you that things have changed! If we are to move to a better future, we have to let go of the past!"

"But what about the attacks?!" "Satellite and New Domino City are under attacks like never before!" were the responses of some citizens that still were.

"Sector Security is working on this already, Director Rafael assures that we will be solving the problems soon enough so that the citizens are safe!" said Mina crossing her arms and firmly standing her ground "This is not the way to solve these problems, you have to believe in us that we will do our best to keep the cities safe!" Finally, the citizens were starting to give in, feeling that even if there was indeed a reason, it wasn't exactly the best way to solve them; things started working pretty much in their favor now.

A soft wind was starting to blow through the entrance, then it began growing more and more, turning from a soft wind to a blowing gust and finally, turning into a harder tornado. The citizens immediately were heading into the academy guided by Sector Security officers, while Yusei and his friends also were starting to move in to take cover from the sudden storm, but they knew as well as the citizens most likely, that this was no natural storm. As some of the wind was giving in, a shadow figure stood up, with a white mask "That's the woman that attacked Daimon yesterday!" said a woman in the group as she managed to recognize her. Another figure then walked behind her, a tall figure covered in a hood.

"I had given you all a chance…but you make this difficult for us it seems." Said the man to himself, as he nodded to the psychic woman attacking, as her eyes glowed once again bright red, this time, she activated the card of Kunai with a Chain, shooting it straight at Akiza and wrapping it around her, as then it pulled.

"Akiza!" "No!" "Dear!" was everything that Yusei, her parents, and her friends managed to shout as the attackers were taking her in their grasp. The storm was now just blocking the way out, not affecting he psychic duelists; Sara looked around a moment, concerned on why it wasn't and to put an end to the psychic attack. She then spotted a small controller on the hands of the taller figure; she closed her eyes, and began chanting a summoning of the Paladins, as Breaker the Magical Warrior appeared, harnessing magic in his sword.

"Now Breaker! Aim at the tall figure!" she shouted, the spell caster shooting a magical shock wave that went through the wind wall and hit the controller of the taller figure "Got it!" shouted Sara in admiration as the man grunted, the wind then ceasing as things were turning back to normal, the psychic powers a mere illusion. Akiza however was unconscious on his hands, and the tall figure just gave in to an escape, the fake Black Rose Witch doing the same and then disappearing before Sector Security could do anything.

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><p>Afternoon was starting, and Akiza's parents and her friends were growing more and more concerned. The mob had left already, but there was nothing they could do at this moment because the man that took Akiza had disappeared. Mina was doing her best, but it seemed this strange person had the upper hand.<p>

Yusei and Sara walked through one of the alleys, trying to follow Sara's prescience powers as she was trying to connect with Akiza's mind, but to no avail as she still seemed unconscious "Nothing yet Yusei…I'm sorry." She said feeling down, as Yusei put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't be sad, we will find here, don't worry about it." He added as he was thinking of something, preparing to turn his Duel Runner on to move ahead, until they heard a rustle from the other side of the alley.

"You're looking for the woman, right?" asked a man's voice, distorted, as he was stepping out of the shadows. It was the vigilante himself, the Shadow Avenger "Akiza Izinski."

Yusei put Sara behind him, if things went worse, he couldn't allow more of his friends to disappear "Stay away! What are you doing here?"

"Mr. Fudo, wait!" said a female voice from behind them, as Mina was rushing towards them, sighing a bit as she looked around "Don't…he's with…us." She said, not sure on how to explain the situation.

"What do you mean with us?" asked Sara, as she looked at the avenger, trying to get any feeling or reading of him like she usually did with her mind skills, but nothing came, almost as if she was being pushed away.

"He's working with the Special Division of Sector Security…he's our consultant …" she said hesitant, as the man then coughed a moment, getting their attention "Sorry, did you find any lead Avenger?"

He remained quiet a moment, as he turned to the end of the alley behind him "You can come." From the shadows, Seria, the previous right hand on Sayer's Arcadia Movement development projects appeared, looking down, in her office clothes "I found here not too far away from here, crying and depressed." He then looked at her and put his hand on her shoulder, gently "Tell them what you told me."

"Isn't she…" said Yusei, having the feeling he had seen her before. Sara recognized her from that time when Arcadia Movement had gotten involved with the Fiends, more specifically the Shadow Monarchs.

"My name is Seria…I used to work for Sayer…on the psychic warfare project…" she said, feeling at the edge of her mind as she shut tightly her eyes, fighting the tears from her remorse "When that incident happened…most of us decided to leave that lie behind…look for a better future…but some…"

"Calm down. We won't do anything to you." said the Avenger, as Mina sighed like if she was in a tight spot herself.

Seria tried calming down a moment, and that's when Yusei and Sara noted it, her eyes were red and her ears as well, far more from usual "I was contacted by a man that…was trying to blackmail me if I didn't comply…we met at…the HQs of Arcadia…I had no choice and I didn't wanted to…I-I" she said, leaning on the wall, holding her head, and slowly kneeling. Sara, Yusei, and Mina could only wonder what she had gone through, not wanting too; Sara already had the explanation herself. All she could tell was that she felt pity for the woman. The Avenger stepped up and looked at Mina, or so it seemed "This huts…a lot!" she finally screamed before giving in to tears, she had two small injection marks near her forehead.

He remained quiet a moment "Take her to the General Hospital." He then handed her a serum "This" he said, as Sara noticed the shield of the Paladins on it, thinking it could be the one that Rafael had heard from Aster "they will need it to make a serum to reverse the effects. They are very harsh on advanced psychic duelists. Then follow my signal, and take lots of Sector Security to my location."

Mina didn't asked or anything, she helped the poor Seria into her van and then looked at the Avenger, as well as Yusei and Sara "What will you do?"

"What needs to be done." A cold short reply, she didn't like it at all and neither Yusei or Sara. With that in mind, Mina drove away fast, heading for the hospital. The Avenger then looked at Yusei and Sara "I'm still to determine who is responsible of this. But whoever it is, has connections with Arcadia Movement. I have a lead to where they took Akiza."

"We will go with you." said Yusei as he stepped forward "I won't abandon, ever, a good friend. Akiza needs our help." No reply came back he just turned around.

"…Do whatever you want." He said slightly turning back at them, staring then at Sara "And you?"

Sara didn't reply, not immediately. She was thinking a moment "I will go and give the news to her friends and family, at least it can calm them down." She said turning around and about to leave, but before getting out of the alley she turned once more "Who hired you?"

"Your friend said you all needed a hand."

The answer didn't give her much information, she just stared at the Avenger, at least where his eyes should be, and then closed her eyes, a bit serious in her expression "Please look after Yusei, and take care yourself." She said, to which the Avenger just nodded, then proceeding to dash away with Yusei following him. Sara remained there a moment, she stared at them leaving, and then she felt in her mind as if she indeed could have seen through the helmet, a deep disappointed sigh escaping her as she then headed back to Duel Academy.

* * *

><p>At an abandoned warehouse lost in the industrial districts of the Daimon Area, Akiza was strapped to a procedural bed, still unconscious, a shadow posing above her "…They have ruined you, and all the training you had done. But this time" said the figure with a male voice, as he took out a syringe, with the same serum the Shadow Avenger gave to Mina "you will remember your true nature, and your purpose on this world." The man was getting closer to Akiza, as she was starting to react back, her eyes barely opening against the light the man needed for his procedure "Welcome back to our world, Akiza, or should I say, the Black Rose Witch?"<p>

"Who…a-are…y-y-you…?" she replied stuttering a moment as she felt a headache, trying to move but not realizing she was held on bed.

"Only someone that you know, that will bring you back to your old self."

"Don't you even dare put a finger on her!" shouted Yusei, a loud metallic clash sound echoing in the warehouse, as Akiza was finally starting to regain her senses "Let her go now! It is over!" said Yusei, as the hooded figure just sighed in disappointment and annoyance.

"Can't you stay away…of my business…" he said as the light aiming at Akiza shut down "FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE?!" shouted the man at him angrily.

"I imagined it'd be you." Said the Avenger at the other entrance, with two guards with blue and green foot length robes knocked unconscious on the ground "If someone wanted to target her, for her abilities, he had to know of them, and how to exploit them. Isn't that right" The man just chuckled as he took off the hood laughing "Sayer?"

Sayer just smirked at them both, Yusei and the Avenger, grinning wide as if all things were still on his favor "Who would have thought I'd get to fulfill my dream…and the promise I made on the same day?" he asked toying with them, as Akiza tried harder to break free of the restraints.

"Give up Sayer, there is enough proof to connect you to the recent crimes in New Domino City, kidnapping; you will be stuck on jail for a long time."

"Regain Akiza and turn her back into her old self…extracting my revenge on Yusei Fudo…and fulfilling my part on the bargain dealing with you, Shadow Avenger." Said Sayer as he looked at them both, not scared a bit, moreover, he was evidently intending on fighting back "I'll make you two regret this! Discovering me and my scheme! It is time to finish this, once and for all, and decide the future of Akiza Izinski!"

_**To be continued…**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>LightLord92: Stay tuned up for more adventure on our next episode of Paladins of Light-Eternal Bonds!<br>Yusei: I wish it hadn't been you Sayer, you've been nothing but pain and suffering for Akiza since day one!  
>Sayer: Actually I offered her a hand when no one did, and secondly, it's only natural to want my retribution from her.<br>Akiza: Please, save me! Yusei, Avenger, he's intending to use the serum!  
>Shadow Avenger: If you had been interested on her, you would just let her go. On my honor, I will see you imprisoned for life!<br>Sayer: Come at me then you two! You have nothing to beat me with! I know all of Yusei's moves and the Crusaders have tuned up my deck!  
>Yusei: This can't be! Even more up on our next episode, ! 5D's Paladins of Light – Eternal Bonds! Episode 13: Showdown for a Soul, the True Power of Darkness and Light!<strong>_

_**Shadow Avenger: **_**The pulsating light travels through the universe! Become the shining Light of Hope!  
><strong>_**Yusei: Don't miss us, and I hope we can come up with a plan to stop Sayer, once and for all this time! Until next time!**_


	13. Episode 13: Showdown for a Soul

**Hello everyone, LightLord92 standing-by! Well, I'll keep this short this time, firstly by saying, I changed a few things from the last episode's sneak peek, namely the chapter and the chant for the monster the Shadow Avenger. Secondly, maybe this volume might be shorter than the last one, why is that? Well, because the last volume, Darkness Awakens, consisted of the arcs of Fortune Cup, Dark Signers, and also a prologue on how Rafael and the paladins reunited and met the Signers as well; in this one, it is mostly an inner conflict as between now to factions of the Paladins, those that still fight for justice, and the Crusaders who are more of a threat and extremists, or corrupt Paladins (corrupt as in bribes, charging fees to do what they signed in to begin with, etc); and also, later on, it won't be too long though, the final climax between the Envoys and the Legendary Paladins, as well as the final showdown with Reginald. Yep, we haven't forgotten you my dear, anti-hero friend. But it's not your time for spotlight yet. Without further ado, let's see today's chapter!**

* * *

><p><strong>Yusei: Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light – Eternal Bonds, Akiza was concerned of incidents involving someone using her previous identity.<br>Sara: Things took a serious turn when the city tried to blame her, but her name was cleaned when the real villain appeared. Yusei, you have to defeat Sayer for good! For our friend!  
>Akiza: Sayer kidnaped me, but just in time, Yusei and the Shadow Avenger appeared…I have faith Yusei!<br>Shadow Avenger: …It is over Sayer, time to pay for your crimes!**

**LightLord92: Join us today with Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light – Eternal Bonds, Episode 13: Showdown for a Soul, Stardust and the Dragon of Hope! Yeah, changed the name heh.**

* * *

><p>Sayer was tired and pissed off, never before have his plans be foiled so much when Goodwin was in charge, until the Dark Signers showed up…moreover, since Yusei showed up at the Fortune Cup. Then it was Rafael and Yusei together in Satellite, it was getting on his nerves evidently "Very well, with whom should I start playing with?" his duel disk turning on as he took of the cloth covering him, he had still that awful mark from his first encounter with an Earthbound Immortal, his usual attire torn a bit.<p>

The Shadow Avenger stepped up, turning then to Yusei "We stand a better chance together. I have a feeling that the Crusaders tuned his deck." Yusei just nodded back at him, as Sayer threw at them a backpack with two duel disks on it "You seem prepared Sayer, have you been planning this all along?" said the Avenger putting on the duel disk, gearing up as he put his deck.

"Let's just say I enjoy being prepared." Replied Sayer grinning eagerly and deviously, around him some members that survived the fall of Arcadia Movement "Look around you, this has gone under the noses of Director Rafael! The Crusaders also rose in his period! He's no Goodwin, and I assure you I intend to exploit his every wekness!"

"You better think that again Sayer." Said Yusei, all set to start the duel "Rafael is putting his everything on keeping the city safe, and I will do my part helping him by defeating YOU!"

Sayer just kept smirking, as the duel was about to begin "Think whatever you want. I have many surprises ready for you both and I will fulfill my promise to the Crusaders."

"Let's duel!" shouted the three of them in unison.

_**Turn 1  
>Sayer, Hand 5, LP 8000<br>Yusei, Hand 5, LP 4000  
>Shadow Avenger, Hand 5, LP 4000<strong>_

"Let's start the show!" Sayer shouted as he got his first card, smiling eagerly "I shall set one card, and then I bring forth Krebons in attack mode!" shouted Sayer as his strange psychic tuner creature appeared, with what seemed a laughter, staring at Yusei, the pixels that worked as his eyes turning on and off randomly on his vizor "That should do for my first turn." He said smiling anxiously as Yusei's turn came now.

Yusei remained quiet, looking at Akiza as she tried to struggle to get herself free from the medical bed. His eyes turned again on Sayer as he got his card "I will start playing Shield Wing in defense mode!" stated Yusei, in front of him a slender bird-dinosaur like monster appeared, shrieking and folding its wings to protect himself "Then I play a face-down card."

"Is that all Yusei? Duel after duel of brilliant starts, and you give me this?" Sayer taunted Yusei, who remained cool under the psychic duelist's attempts. He just smirked and then looked at the Avenger "I hope you give me more, of a battle."

"Don't worry about it." Said the Avenger as he took his turn now "I will make sure to beat your ass and sweep the floor with your face."

"Oh, rough words coming from a masked 'hero'." Replied Sayer

"We shall see." He said, then behind him, appearing a dark veil behind him "Activating his special skill, I bring forth Vice Dragon in attack mode!" shouted the Avenger, as his demonic-like dragon appeared, roaring fiercely, as his points were halved "Unfortunately, doing so reduces his points, but that's the least of your problems. I set a card, and then summon Blade Knight to the field." He added, the white armored knight taking the field, pointing his blade at Sayer "That's all for my turn."

"Humph, I expected more from your threat." Said Sayer looking disappointed at both his opponents "Do you two really think this way you can beat me? You have much to learn yet."

_**Turn 2  
>Sayer, Hand 4, LP 8000<br>Yusei, Hand 4, LP 4000  
>Shadow Avenger, Hand 3, LP 4000<strong>_

Sayer took his card and smiled, the field around them starting to change "I activate the field card, Brain Research Lab, allowing me to get an additional summon, so long as it belongs to a psychic monster." Sayer bragged, as their duel field turned into a scientific lab, Yusei gritted his teeth as the warehouse was now taking the form of what seemed to be a laboratory of Arcadia "Ah, nothing like home right Akiza? This is where I enabled your powers to reach its full potential!"

"Stop this now Sayer!" shouted Yusei seeing Sayer's game, he was trying to make her remember everything once again.

"Now Yusei, you want to stop me? Finish the duel! I first activate, Brain Control! Targeting the Avenger's Vice Dragon!" he said, his life points reduced on 800 for the cost, as Vice Dragon roared, flying all the way to Sayer's field "Now, I'll give him a proper use like those who didn't had the skills to be psychic duelists, I'll summon Life Harmonizer, using my three monsters, to synchro summon!" he shouted as Krebons laughed madly, creating dark vortexes for the monsters and himself "Come forth now, Hyper Psychic Blaster!" Sayer grinned, as his mechanical enhance humanoid beast appeared, taking aim at the field, packing 3000 attack points.

"Trap card open!" shouted the Avenger, showing up a Bottomless Trap Hole "When you special summon, I can trigger this to destroy and banish that fancy machine of yours!"

"Good try Avenger, but I am afraid it's not enough! Trap card open!" answered back Sayer, showing a card with Krebons playing around "This is my continuous trap, courtesy of the Crusaders, **Psychic Annulment**, which allows me to once per turn, negate a card's activation and destroy it at the cost of 2000 LP!" he said, smiling as his LP decreased on 2000 again, but cancelling the strategy of the Avenger "Heh, didn't saw this coming right?" arms crossed Sayer smiled, this card was the key point according to the Crusaders to overthrow Yusei's deck "Now, attack that Shield Wing!" the psychic monster took aim with both of his hand guns and fired a barrage of energy bullets, hitting Shield Wing but going forward to Yusei, causing damage to him as Sayer was exerting his powers.

"Yusei!" Akiza shouted concerned and scared at the groans of Yusei. He was standing, breathing a bit harder, as he looked at Sayer, who smiled back "Sayer, stop this! I beg of you!"

"As much as I would like to" he said chuckling "I can't dear Akiza! I know you'd love to offer yourself if I spared them, but Yusei has this strange power to drop sense in people, it would be too dangerous if I will keep you in my lines again! That's why, he must DIE!"

"Akiza, I'm fine." Replied Yusei looking at her, trying to assure her everything would be fine. His eyes then set on Sayer, Yusei's LP dropping due to the piercing power of the psychic monster, Sayer just laughed as his LP increased on that same difference Yusei suffered "It's not over yet Sayer."

"Oh, I know, and I hope you and this Avenger can hold on long enough." He said laughing at his usual "Business is business after all, and I have a city to conquer, so I will make it quick, but painful, especially for you Yusei!"

"My turn!" replied Yusei as he tried to see what to do. Sayer's Psychic beast had the upper hand for sure, and that trap card was going to become a problem later on. He took a deep breath before continuing "I'll set a card, and another defense monster." Sayer contained himself to taunt him yet again, he had the feeling he was taking the upper hand. Yusei looked at the Avenger a moment, he seemed in his own world, but then saw him nodding, taking it as a signal.

"It is my turn now." said the Avenger "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon!"

"Fool! I activate **Psychic Annulment **again!" shouted Sayer as his trap card shot an energy beam that disabled and destroyed the typhoon "Don't you guys get it? There is nothing you can do to beat me!" he smirked and laughed off, as he stood victorious "Admit defeat now!"

"I don't think so." Replied the Avenger "Now Blade Knight, attack that psychic blaster!"

"Are you nuts? So desperate to lose already?"

"Not quite." Added the avenger, just moments before Blade Knight's attack connected, Honest appeared in the field, granting his light over the knight who, in a simple swing of his blade, cut the blaster in half, triggering an explosion, Sayer's LP dropping down on 1600 more "You should be wary of what goes in your surroundings, Sayer, otherwise you might be caught off-guard."

"What was that?!" he demanded angrily, as Yusei smirked, the avenger then discarding the card of Honest.

"My typhoon was just a decoy, and in the battle phase, I discarded Honest to get rid of that annoying psychic monster."

"You see Sayer" said Yusei serious "that trap card, we might not be able to get rid of it for now, but we can force you and lead you to our traps, and without a supply of LP you had on that creature, you must be wary of when timing that effect." Sayer was angry, but still he felt he had the upper hand, just looking serious at both Yusei and the Avenger.

"I end my turn with that movement. You go."

_**Turn 3  
>Sayer, Hand 2, LP 3700<br>Yusei, Hand 3, LP 1900  
>Shadow Avenger, Hand 2, LP 4000<strong>_

Sayer took his card, he just smirked a moment and looked back at Yusei and the Avenger "First I activate Swords of Revealing Light in order to protect myself this turn, then I summon Psychic Commander." He added smiling as the creature took to the field in a cannon-like UFO "Then I activate the spell card **Legacy of the Mastermind**" a spell card with the image of a hidden laboratory hidden inside a wall that was opening appeared, and a psychic manifestation within it "With this, I can banish any number of psychic monsters in my graveyard and gain 800 LP for each one." He said as Krebons and Life Harmonizer were banished, his LP increasing in 1600, then their spirits manifesting "And additionally, I get to summon to Psychic tokens, of level 1, to tune up with my Commander!" shouted Sayer as the three monsters disappeared, giving space for a level 5 Synchro monster "Come forth, Magical Android!" he smiled as the cybernetic woman appeared, taking on the field "Now attack Blade Knight!" and in a swift movement of her kinetic staff, an expansive wave pushed forward crushing Blade Knight in a blink of an eye "I end my turn, and my LP now increase by 600!"

"It's my turn now!" said Yusei as he stared at his cards a moment, it wasn't exactly a wise decision to bring forth Stardust Dragon with that card active, furthermore, they had to get rid of the Swords of Revealing light as well before even attempting anything like that. He set up a card and then played his spell card "I activate Double Cyclone, destroying my trap card, and targeting your Swords of Revealing Light!" Sayer didn't say anything, and the cyclones of Yusei hit both Sayer's swords and then his trap card, which activated "My trap card activates, Limiter Overload, allowing me to bring forth my Speed Warrior from my Deck!" the gray armored warrior appeared from a whirlwind, standing beside Shield Wing and in defense position "Then I summon Debris Dragon, for a tune up!" as soon as Yusei's dragon appeared in the field, it turned into four rings of energy, as Shield Wing and Speed Warrior dashed through them, becoming 4 stars "Clustering stars will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!" and from the gleaming light of the rings, particles of stars shot through it, Stardust Dragon emerged, with its majestic roar and flying at Yusei's side, staring right at Sayer "Attack now Stardust Dragon, Cosmic Flare!" Yusei's dragon didn't hesitate, as it shot a powerful vortex of wind flames all the way to Sayer's last monster, blowing it up and sending some damage to Sayer himself "I won't let you do anything to harm Akiza or any of my friends, you understand it Sayer?"

"Oh very clear Yusei." Replied Sayer challenging "It's a shame we're on different sides, and that you're not a psychic duelist, someone with your skills could be very useful."

"Working for someone like you could never be something I'd do."

"Well, I must say that even so, it wasn't an invitation Yusei." He said smirking yet again, as if he had a trump card just waiting "You've been meddling in my affairs for too long now, and I will enjoy wiping you out for good!"

"Tell me Sayer" interrupted the avenger looking at him "what good could it give you to side with the Crusaders? They already betrayed the Paladins, what makes you think they won't betray you?"

"The fact that my psychic duelists will be able to take care of them." He replied laughing as he took the serum that the avenger gave to Mina "They play me for a fool, sure, but that's what I want them to think. I know the kids and teenagers that 'died' in my experiments were in turn taken by them. They developed this little thing that will help me keep them under my control!"

The Avenger remained quiet a moment, arms crossed and let go of a sigh "You're far from a human now. You don't deserve any mercy. And you don't really have any idea of who you are going up against the Crusaders."

* * *

><p>As the duel continued, someone had sneaked up on the warehouse, as some of Sayer's men were trying to get Akiza out of there to another location. However, as soon as they tried to leave, a Breaker the Magical Warrior appeared, forcing them back inside as the monster disappeared when they ran away; Sara was just arriving and began undoing the restraints on Akiza to set her free "Akiza are you alright?" she asked as the violet haired woman hugged her in relief "It's ok, Yusei and that man will handle Sayer. We have to get you out of here."<p>

"Then we should tell them so they can get away, the duel has started already." Whispered Akiza as she stood up, guiding Sara to the upper floor of the warehouse.

Sayer was very focused on the duel, while Yusei seemed rather unsurprised of seeing Akiza free on the upper level of the warehouse; the avenger simply let go a sigh as he turned to Yusei "So this was the plan you two had huh?" Yusei just nodded, it was just buying Sara enough time to arrive and help them.

"What's the matter with you two?" asked Sayer turning then upstairs and gasping as he saw Akiza set free, running towards the side where Yusei and the Avenger were standing, with Sara right behind her "How in the world?!" he shouted angrily, losing his temper quickly.

"Seems you don't have anything else as an advantage Sayer. Why not stop this once and for all before it's too late?"

"It is already late, you idiots! You choose the wrong person to mess up with to being with!"

"It's my turn." Said the Avenger as he looked at his card, it was a risky bet, but he and Yusei needed to keep the advantage on field and hand "I will activate Card of Sanctity, allowing all of us to draw cards from our Deck until we have 6 cards." He stared again, for Yusei and Sayer it was difficult to read what this guy was thinking because of the helmet "I'll set a card. End of my turn."

_**Turn 4  
>Sayer, Hand 6, LP 5900<br>Yusei, Hand 6, LP 1900  
>Shadow Avenger, Hand 6, LP 3200<strong>_

Sayer drew his card, he smiled excitedly again "I'll release my trap card" his trap card shattered in debris, as Yusei looked surprised, while Akiza and Sara tried to figure out the next movement of Sayer "in order to Special Summon, my **Mastermind Overseer**!" shouted Sayer, a humanoid monster taking to the field, he wore a brown garb, underneath it a mechanical white body, with some parts still reminiscent to a human body, and the face, it was pretty much like Sayer's without hair, and the right eye was changed with a bionic metallic scope "This little fella can be special summoned when I tribute any card on my side of the field. Sounds odd to let go of my best choice to fend you off right Yusei?" he asked in a taunt manner, the monster's points at 0 in defense and attack "That's because he will be the instrument of both of your demises!" the monster then began glowing with a blue aura, as it lifted his arms, then tapping on his psychic powers, a portal opening up "By removing a psychic monster in my graveyard, I can special summon any psychic monster from my Deck of a lower level!" said that, his Blaster left the graveyard another figure being summoned forth by the Mastermind "Come forth, Master Gig! Synchro Summon!" ordered Sayer as the gigantic spherical orb with a face and spikes appeared, but not for long as it turned into orbs of light, 8 of them being harnessed by **Mastermind Overseer **as Sayer's eyes widened "Come forth, **Technomind Emperor**!" shouted Sayer, a bigger humanoid monster appearing, wearing a white futuristic-like coat with yellow patterns of circuits, his head covered in a blue helmet with two antenna as sparks flew from it, with mechanical like gloves as hands, staring at Yusei and the Avenger "Fearsome isn't it? And let me explain you its effects! Firstly, I can activate each effect once per turn, the first one being able to destroy any card I want in the field during my turns, the second allowing me to negate any effects and destroy the card that wanted to trigger its effect on either player's turns, letting me again, counter your dragon Yusei! Oh and the best, part, you can't activate any effects to counter him if I pay 1000 LP." Yusei and the Avenger backed a bit at the sight of tremendous creature, it was overwhelming indeed and it seemed very powerful with such an effect, as well as packing 3500 and 2000 Atk and Def points respectively "He is a force to be recon for sure! Tremble in fear now!"

"Activate trap card! Raigeki Break!" he said, discarding a Redy Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon "I'll strike down that machine!"

"You're not paying attention are you? It's over! Psychic Judgment!" ordered Sayer to his beast, a shockwave of psionic energy emanating from its helmet, distorting the thunder strike of Raigeki Break and destroying the card "I know though what you wanted is to buy some time, but Yusei's Deck is not exactly the best defense menace!" the machine moved, one of the gauntlets aiming at Stardust Dragon with a cannon within "Attack now **Technomind Emperor**! Ultimate Psi-blaster!" taking aim, the psychic monster shot a powerful burst of energy right at Yusei's Dragon, who retaliated with the Cosmic Flare in defense, but to no avail as the strike of the psychic creature overcame Stardust, heading on to Yusei as he received the impact of the attack, destroying it and reducing Yusei's LP by another 1000 "Heh, you guys can't beat me now! I'm invincible!"

Yusei could feel the impact of Sayer's attack weighting on his body, Akiza looked at him concerned, worried was a subtle way of describing her thoughts and concern; nevertheless he stood again. Sayer was surprised and annoyed at the stubborn duelist's will, groaning in anger "I'm still not done…so long as I breath…I will fight for my friends and protect them with all I got!"

"But you've got nothing to defend them with now!" said Sayer laughing and extending his arms to his sides in a victorious pose "You're done! Finito! Give up already and beg for my mercy!"

"You don't know when to shut your tramp, do you?" asked the Avenger pissed off in his voice, as Sayer blinked taken off-guard, but still clearly annoyed "You only focus on what you see in the field, and that's good with a normal duelist, but Yusei is in a whole different league than either you or I." stated the hero as everyone stared at him "True, you have the field advantage with tremendous beast, but you know what they say" he said staring up at the creature and then turning his sight back on to Sayer "the bigger they are, the harder the fall."

"Do you think I don't know of it?" replied Sayer still angry "My family, my friends, ever since I was a child I was casted away because no one understood my power! The hatred, the anger, the impotence of not being able to do nothing!" replied Sayer turning to his past and just smirking like a mad man "But I turned the tables on them, and now, I shall get my revenge on the world, making them the prosecuted one! My dream is….to see everyone suffer as I did!"

"You're just another pathetic fool with delusions of grandeur; I've had enough of the likes of you." Replied the avenger "Yusei, take your turn and teach this fool what you can truly do."

Yusei nodded smiling, as he then triggered his face down "Before your turn ends, I activate Stardust Flash, allowing me to bring back my trusted Stardust Dragon from the graveyard!" behind him, again the same gleaming light as Stardust Dragon soared back into the field, roaring fiercely "It's not over yet Sayer! I will never someone with your goals to win over the bonds with my friends or threaten the world!"

"Humph, have it your way, I'll enjoy taking out your remaining LP, and then the Avenger will be easy prey." said Sayer still smirking "You have no way of defeating me! I set one card and finish."

"It's my turn now!" added Yusei, as he looked at the field.

"Foolish." thought Sayer to himself "There's no way he and the Avenger can team up against me this turn, and next one, I can activate Battle Teleportation, allowing me to finish off the avenger, only then, with him out, my monster remains with me and I'll crush Yusei with my spell, **Mental Overkill** allowing me to tribute my monster and finish off Yusei in the worst way!"

Yusei saw carefully the field, trying to figure out a battle plan this time "I'll activate Polymerization!" shouted Yusei, surprising Akiza and the Avenger, as he had never before used that kind of summoning before; Sara didn't seem surprised at all, she was smiling.

"It seems the duel will be reaching its finale soon enough." She said to Akiza cheering her up "If not Yusei, the Avenger will have the chance."

"What do you mean? That monster Sayer has is quite" replied Akiza still concerned, but looking at Yusei once more, she could see it, his determination, that same expression he had when he saved her the first time, then the second, and when he dueled Goodwin; she shook her head a moment "I trust in you Yusei, you can do this."

"I'll use the Shield Warrior in my hand, with the Stardust Dragon I control, to fuse summon!" Stardust Dragon and Shield Warrior merged together in the spell card, as it began glowing brightly, as a shadow leaped from within the polymerization card of Yusei "Come forth, Dragon Knight Draco Equiste!" shouted Yusei, the majestic dragon warrior spreading its wings in the air, swinging its lance and looking at Sayer's monster.

"Heh, and how is that supposed to beat me?!" asked Sayer relieved, seeing his psychic monster still had an advantage over Yusei's new dragon. Yusei simply took one card from his hand, revealing it to Sayer as the equip spell of Fighting Spirit, to which Sayer simply looked confused.

"I activate now the spell card, Fighting Spirit, equipping it to my dragon knight" a glowing aura began surrounding Yusei's fused monster, emanating a powerful light that was increasing his power to the same strength that Sayer's monster had "and increasing his strength by 300 points for each monster you control, making my dragon knight as powerful as your emperor!"

"No…this can't be! This is not possible!"

"Dragon Knight, attack! Destroy Technomind Emperor!"

"You fool! You're sacrificing your own monster!"

"Actually, Fighting Spirit will prevent its destruction this turn, destroying itself." stated the Avenger as he saw Yusei's plan "Impressive indeed, you're better than I expected." And in a swift sweep, Yusei's dragon knight swept through Sayer's most recent Synchro psychic creature and blew it up in the resulting crash, sparing the dragon from its destruction as the equip spell exploded, leaving their LP intact "That's all for my turn now."

Sayer looked at the ground, still not believing it, but the next turn held his promise; Monster Reborn was in his hand, if he could but endure this turn, and knowing the Avenger had no cards on his field, he could easily summon something weak that not even with Yusei's dragon could take him out, he was till sure he would win "My turn now." said the avenger, laughing at Sayer "It's interesting and ironic."

"What is it?"

"That the cards the Crusaders gave you were of no use for you. This game's over. I pity you."

"Shut up! Don't count me out yet! I have all it takes to win this!"

"We shall see." replied the avenger "From my hand, I shall Special Summon the tool of your defeat!" the spirits of Vice Dragon and Honest began floating at the sides of the avenger, startling Sayer a moment, lookin really confused and desperate "By removing from play a Light and dark monster from my graveyard"

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"I can special summon a new dragon!" he then pointed at the ceiling as both Honest and Vice Dragon faded away in a glimmering shining star, growing in size and brightness as it absorbed the dark energy of Vice Dragon and the Light energy of Honest.

"A new dragon?" asked Yusei, the first thing that ame to his mind the Signer Dragons, but it couldn't be as his mark was not resonating at all; then it hit him as he stared "Could it be…"

Sara and Akiza saw the star growing more and more, something moving within it; Akiza as lost in the beauty of it, this was called a neutron start, and the phenomenon it was mimicking from space was called a pulsar; Sara looked down at the avenger, those feelings again filling her mind when they first met.

"Light and darkness mix together to give birth to a new entity, its birth shining bright with light!" finally the star stopped growing as a roar echoed from within it "Become the sparkling light of hope! Shake them, Lightpulsar Dragon!" shouted the avenger as the star exploded, leaving where it was a powerful bipedal blue dragon with white scales, with sharp piercing red eyes, as it let go of another shrieking roar, the pulsar star fading away.

Sayer again called it a close call, the summoning wasn't something big as he had hoped, but he was still concerned as he still had one last monster that could twist everything.

"I now, activate the spell card" revealed the avenger a card with the image of a dragon, possibly Tyrant Dragon dying in the sky, but creating a powerful shockwave that expanded across a city, leaving it in ruins "**Expiration of a Dragon Lord**, which allows me to tribute Lightpulsar to the graveyard in order to destroy all Spell or Trap cards you control!"

Those words were enough. Sayer's strategy was now gone and with it, his chance of finishing the duel in his victory. Lightpulsar dragon began roaring in pain, as it then let go of a louder, angrier roar, creating a powerful shockwave that destroyed Sayer's trap cards and magic cards, his field included, and with one counter, it took away 1000 of his LP. He opened his eyes, just to the surprise of the Avenger closing his fist and raising it in the air "What now?!"

"Lightpulsar Dragon, when it passes away to the graveyard, allows me to special summon any level 5 or higher dragon monster." He then showed Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon "Like the one I discarded with Raigeki Break."

"You were just…toying with me…" said Sayer, surprised that the avenger had guided him to play HIS game, not how Sayer had planned it.

"Exactly my friend, the illusion of control can be quite cruel right?" asked the avenger, as the titanic metal dragon appeared roaring loud into the field, with 2800 attack points, there was no way he could still defeat Sayer, but he knew that monster, Sayer had seen it before in many duels during the years, the favorite of dragon duelists "And now with his skill, I can bring back any dragon monster in the graveyard! I choose Lightpulsar Dragon once again!" the light dragon appeared once more, taking battle stance and roaring at Sayer. This was it, there was no other way around it, Sayer's LPs were 4900 because of his field spell, and now; he was done "Checkmate. Attack my dragons! Darkness Volley! Shimmering Pulse!" both dragons charged their flame attacks and let loose of them on Sayer, the psychic duelist barely covering himself as both attacks impacted greatly on him, taking out the rest of his LP in a swift movement.

_**Sayer, Hand 6, LP 0  
>Yusei, Hand 6, LP 900; Shadow Avenger, Hand 6, LP 3200; Winners – Yusei and Shadow Avenger<strong>_

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><p>Sayer knelt a moment, as the holograms disappeared, but as soon as Yusei and the Avenger were about to walk towards him, he stared at them "This is not my end!" he shouted, taking out Hinotama and casting it once more at Yusei and the vigilante, making them back away. He looked around, his subordinates were leaving as they saw the opportunity, he hated doing it, but he had to if he was to ensure his escape "We shall meet again! And by then, no more dueling, I will simply take your lives with my hands!" he shouted making a run for it as his operation was again, foiled. Yusei was about to give chase, but the avenger stopped him a moment.<p>

"No need to rush." He said calmly as Yusei looked puzzled; Sara and Akiza were walking down to meet with the heroes, chastising the avenger.

"He's too dangerous to let free! We must capture him!" argued Akiza, as the avenger looked at her.

"Trust me, he won't go far away." He said showing them a GPS he had active since it all began, Yusei and Sara then remembered what he told to Mina before everything began.

The four duelists walked out of the warehouse, just to spot a large group of Sector Security officers all around, arresting the remnants of Arcadia that had been with Sayer in this; mina personally was seeing that Sayer was stripped of his duel disk and his deck, as she then turned to Yusei and his friends; she walked towards them and smiled cheerfully "We have him. He won't be doing anything else for a very long time."

"What about Seria?" asked Sara concerned, as the avenger again walked into the warehouse without anyone noting him disappear.

"She promised to cooperate when Sayer is put to trial. That's why he will be in jail a very long time." Replied Seria as Sayer's face was full of remorse, anger, sorrow, it was hard to describe it.

"In the end" said Akiza looking at him, as Sayer looked back, for the first time, looking at Akiza with hatred, as he was so close to make his dream true and yet again, it escaped him "I have to admit I pity him." She said as everyone looked puzzled at her "His life was like mine…casted aside because of the powers…alone, with no one that could lend him a hand, secluding himself. He deserves this and yet" she then looked at Sara and Yusei, smiling warmly at them "I sometimes wonder, what if I hadn't met you Yusei? I fear…I might have ended up like him." She said, a slight blush on her face to which Sara just giggled.

"Akiza, you don't have to worry about it." He patted her shoulder and stared at her eyes a moment, making her feel rather nervous "You've got us with you, all the way to the end."

"He's right." Added Sara smiling at her friend and rival in love surely "That's what friends are for; you would have done the same for any of us." Akiza just nodded, hugging them both out of the blue; Sara just smiled and giggled a bit, letting her vent off, while Yusei blushed a moment not so sure of how to react.

"Thank you." She just said; she then turned around after breaking the moment and seeing her family and friends running for her, she headed to meet them, all of them happy that things went out well in the end.

Yusei then turned to Sara, in time to see her going back to the warehouse and following her up; there, they saw the avenger kneeling at the floor, looking at the serum that Sayer let fall when he lost, he was analyzing it with test equipment he had in his gauntlet "That thing is magical right? I mean your fancy gauntlets. The avenger just stood up, staring at them through his helmet, not answering back "Where did you get it?"

"I told you, your friend hired me to"

"You can stop lying now, Rafael." Said Sara crossing her arms, the avenger didn't reply "I know it's you, the style, the theme of the hero; I even felt your presence through your mind."

"Proof seems to point to that fact." Said Yusei as he stepped too "Rafael, you might have your reasons, but why would you" his voice as cut off, as Sara got a call on her Paladin comm, turning it on, it was Rafael.

"Sara, Yusei, is everything ok?" he said looking at them, it appeared he was at Sector Security's Bureau, which startled both Sara and Yusei when they stared back at the Shadow Avenger "Sara, Yusei? You guys hear me there?"

"Yes we do…" she replied nervously and a bit embarrassed as the avenger crossed his arms "It's just that…"

The comm didn't make any sound until a hissing buzz came "I suppose you just met my newest aide, Shadow Avenger, theatrical isn't he?" Sara looked at the comm a moment, still doubtful "He is doing me a favor of investigating anything related with the Crusaders, so I can avoid this kind of problems in the future." He then had a call and looked at them "Sorry, I got to cut, more job here, say hi to Mina for me, and I'll talk to you guys later." The communication then shut.

"That should suffice for your answer, right?" said the avenger as he finished the test, matching positive with the results of the serum that Aster found on Paris "So they did give it to him…at least the other version." He then turned at the stardust duelist and the Paladin girl, chuckling softly "Listen, all you have to know for now, is that I'm not your enemy. I'm on your side." He then raised his hand and shot his grapple to the ceiling, near a window "We will meet again someday." He shouted, breaking through it and making an escape of it yet again.

* * *

><p>As night rolled in, Sayer was kept in an isolated interrogation room of Sector Security after the whole mess he made. He looked angrily at the windows, hand cuffed to the table so he couldn't try anything funny; before saying anything, he called on his right for a lawyer; after some minutes from being kept in there, 2 officers stepped in, he hadn't seen them before, when Goodwin was Director or even heard or knew of them when Rafael took the mantle. After them, Victor arrived, wearing clothes of a lawyer, a fancy grey suit with a white shirt underneath and matching pants, he sat down and stared at Sayer as the officers left "Well then, how did your plan went, colleague?"<p>

Sayer didn't reply, Victor had warned him of avoiding going for Akiza and to keep his part first, by taking out the Shadow Avenger and Yusei from the table game "Stop the chasing, I want to know how will you help me."

"Help you?" asked Victor putting on some glasses to read the charges Sector Security was putting over him "Well, this is quite a history you have, and since Rafael is in the seat and not Goodwin, I can imagine it won't be easy taking you out."

"Well you better do it." Demanded Sayer smiling "Otherwise, who knows what I could…tell them." Victor smiled back at Sayer, who seemed to be blackmailing him "Oh that's right, I know everything, and if it was made public what you have done…what you plan to do…what you're doing…your plan is over, and he Paladins win this…stupid civil war."

"Oh darn it." Said Victor taking his glasses off and cleaning them as he stood up, looking afflicted by Sayer's threats "Please Sayer, you can't do this to your business friends, could you?"

"That's what I ask you, Vitor." He said smirking "I will make it worth it, and you won't have to go through such a pathetic display as Rafael and the Paladins take your small force out."

Victor's face turned serious, he sighed and looked Sayer "Poor, poor Sayer."

"What?"

"Even now" replied Victor chuckling "you think you have the upper hand…didn't that duel show you to never trust your feeling of…control?" Sayer's eyes widened in shock "You know, only what I want you to know my friend. I never reveal my secrets to those I don't fully trust. We spied your duel. I know your plans." He then whistled, one of the Paladins entering as he gave Victor a card.

"Wait, you better stop playing the smart guy because I'm talking seriously!"

"Oh, so am I." added Victor smiling as he showed the card to Sayer "You're not the only one, with gifts." He said, as he chanted a spell, the card which was Mind Crush glowing, as Victor then put his palm on the forehead of Sayer, who without a moment to react, just yelled in pain "You served your purpose, now I have to make sure you don't stab me in the back…while I put you in your place."

Moments later, Victor and the officer that was with him stepped out of the room, walking with the one that waited for them outside; it was protocol if there was an officer outside an interrogation room that nobody should bother the interrogation; Victor put his glasses on once more and talked with Mina, assuring her that Sayer had confessed everything and being guilty, but that his mind was in this moment, rather shocked to show any reaction. He then just left, as Mina ordered some officers to take Sayer to one of the cells, his expression, gone, as if his mind had been squeezed of anything, he was just mumbling random words, like a real madman.

* * *

><p><strong>LightLord92: That's all for today folks! Hope you enjoyed today's chapter, and now, going on with the sneak peek of today, in our next episode of Paladins of Light – Eternal Bonds!<br>Jadne: Wohooo! Finally some spotlight time! After all this mess with the Crusaders, Alexis and I return to our Duel Academy, as it seems there is something fishy going around there.  
>Alexis: It seems that in the outcome of the Dark Signers uprising and the attack of those Fiends almost a year ago, someone began checking information on the duelists that are coming, Jaden, as a teacher I can't let these men go away with this!<br>Jaden: We won't! And this time, Jesse will actually help us in a duel like in the old times right buddy?  
>Jesse: You can bet on it! It's time to rev up our game on, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Paladins of Light – Eternal Bonds, Episode 14: Invaders arrive! Challenging the Heroes and Gems!<br>Alexis: Jesse, since when do you have those monsters if I might ask?  
>Jesse: Remember, I play Crystal Beast, so I thought more gems could be useful as well!<br>Jaden: Until next time! And stay tuned for more adventures!**

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><p><strong>New Cards of the day:<strong>

**Psychic Annulment; Continuous Trap Card; image of Krebons playing around with two warriors, removing their armors and weapons.  
>Once per turn, when your opponent activates a card, you can pay 2000 Life Points. If you do, negate that card's activation and destroy it.<strong>

**Legacy of the Mastermind; Normal Spell Card; image of a trapdoor leading to a high-tech laboratory, in the middle of it a container with a brain, a manifestation of a man genetically enhanced floating inside of it.  
>Banish any number psychic-type monsters from your Graveyard. Increase your Life Points by 800 for each monster banished by this card and then Special Summon as many 'Psychic Manifestation' tokens as the number of cards banished (Dark Attribute, Lv 1, Atk 0, Def 0)<br>**

**Mastermind Overseer; Dark Attribute, Psyhic-type Effect Tuner, Level 4; Atk 0, Def 0 (a mechanical humanoid that resembles Sayer, with a high-tech red vizor as his right eye)  
>You can Special Summon this card by sending to the Graveyard a face-up card in your side of the field. Once per turn, you can banish any psychic-type monster from your graveyard, Special Summon any psychic-type monster from your Deck whose level is lower than the banished monster.<strong>

**Technomind Emperor; Light Attribute, Psychic-type Effect, Level 12; Atk 3500, Def 2000 (a mechanical humanoid monster appearing, wearing a white futuristic-like coat with yellow patterns of circuits, his head covered in a blue helmet with two antenna as sparks flew from it, with mechanical like gloves as hands)  
>1 Psychic-Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters<br>Once per turn, you can activate each of the following effects:  
>*Destroy any card on the field during your Main Phase<br>*You can negate the activation of any card and destroy it.  
>*By paying 1000 Life Points, this card is unaffected by your opponents cards until your End Phase.<strong>


End file.
